Health Benefits of DIM For Hormone Balance

DIM For Hormone Balance: How Does It Work?

Understanding the complex world of supplements is challenging, especially with many food supplements claiming to work miracles on your health. This makes it impossible for a regular person to sort through every available information and make informed decisions about safe and effective supplements to use.

However, if you’ve come across Diindolylmethane or DIM as a potential antidote to hormonal imbalance and other conditions, you are certainly on the right path. This supplement has been used to balance sex hormones and prevent cancer. This guide highlights the health benefits of DIM and how it works.

What is DIM?

Diindolylmethane is essentially a plant compound with many health benefits. DIM is among the many plant indoles found in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and brussels sprouts. These indoles improve the body’s metabolism naturally by working with hormones and adjusting their actions to prevent hormonal imbalances.

Though considered a dietary supplement, research has found that indole-3-carbinol or I3C is inactive in the body until it is converted to Diindolylmethane. I3C is unstable in the body and can convert to several substances with undesirable actions.

DIM results upon conversion, making it the most active indole in cruciferous vegetables and a healthy compound that improves the metabolism of estrogen hormones in men and women.

Benefits of DIM Supplements

As mentioned, DIM supplements promote estrogen metabolism and help in restoring hormonal imbalances. Other benefits of these dietary supplements include;

• Anticancer effects – several studies have suggested that Diindolylmethane supplements can prevent the growth and spread of breast and prostate cancer. However, more research studies are ongoing to ascertain the effectiveness of these supplements in limiting cancer growth.
• Boost weight loss – estrogen plays a crucial role in regulating the accumulation of fat in the body. Therefore, DIM supplements may be used to promote weight loss indirectly. Similarly, while more studies are being done to conclude these suggestions, earlier findings have linked estrogen imbalance, which can either be too little or too much, to risks of weight gain in men and women. However, DIM supplements inhibit the fat formation and stimulate fat breakdown.
• Fight acne – dietary DIM supplements have also been used to treat acne commonly caused by hormonal imbalances.
• Can reduce hot flashes – hot flashes, especially during menopause, occur due to hormonal changes. This can be resolved with DIM supplements.
• Corrects estrogen imbalances in men – men with high estrogen levels often have erectile dysfunction, infertility, and breast growth.

DIM supplements can also improve cardiovascular health, promote muscle development, improve mood, enhance body energy, and enhance memory. However, these benefits have not been studied conclusively as human trials are required.

Potential Side Effects of DIM

Due to limited research studies in humans, there are few known long-term side effects of these supplements. Current studies haven’t found toxic or serious side effects of DIM supplements. However, those who have used these supplements have reported less common side effects, which include;

• Darkened and stronger odor of urine
• Headache
• Increased frequency of bowel movements
• Nausea
• Diarrhea and vomiting
• Skin rashes

How Long Do DIM Supplements Take to Work?

Unlike prescription drugs, supplements take time to take effect. DIM supplements aren’t an exception. That said, it takes 30 days before these supplements to balance estrogen levels. Read more about pharmaceutical-grade supplements here.

Is DIM Safe?

Those who used DIM as dietary supplements for a few years haven’t reported any adverse effects. That said, while these supplements can be used to correct hormonal imbalance, especially in premenopausal women, they can also cause hormonal imbalances. Therefore, DIM has both positive and negative results on the body. A good example of this is a 2011 study on Thyroid, which found that DIM has the anti-estrogenic effect that reduces the risk of thyroid cancers.

More research should be done to define the specifics of DIM, especially the correct dosage and hormonal interactions.

Conclusion

Regardless of the benefits of DIM supplements, you should always include cruciferous vegetables in your diet. Besides, vegetables, such as kales and broccoli, are good sources of important body nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibers. If you are curious about the health benefits of DIM supplements or how they can aid hormone replacement therapy, always consult the professionals.