I showed you last month how a fairly popular supplement, indole-3-carbinole (I3C), is coming under scrutiny because of concerns about it is safety. The evidence that this supplement may encourage cancer is really beginning to stack up.
You may remember from last months article that some estrogen byproducts are good (2-hydroxy estrogen) and some are bad (16-hydroxy estrogen and 4-hydroxy estrogen).
The manufacturers of I3C say the product helps your body produce more of the good estrogen byproducts. This is true. But what was not known, until recently, is that I3C also produces 4-hydroxy estrogen – definitely one of the bad guys. This estrogen byproduct is a major producer of inflammation and toxic free radicals. And it can lead to cancer, heart problems, and many inflammatory diseases, including arthritis.
What we need is a product that can help the body create more good estrogen byproducts and reduce the number of all the bad byproducts. The good news is there is a dietary supplement that can do all this, and so much more.
In fact, there is strong evidence this supplement can help prevent all hormone-related cancers, including breast, prostate, and uterine cancers.
The supplement is a nutrient commonly found in broccoli and cauliflower. You know I love vegetables, and cruciferous vegetables are strong medicinal plants. Well, our old friend DIM (diindolylmethane) is one reason these veggies are such powerful healers.
DIM is a supplement I’ve long supported and used. It works by preventing the unwanted damage caused by excess estrogen and man-made poisons (called xenobiotics). When your body detects these toxins, it responds by increasing the production of a chemical receptor in your cells called AhR (aryl hydrocarbon receptor). When AhR reacts with the excess estrogen or xenobiotics, it creates the dangerous 4-hydroxy estrogen.
Your body constantly fights against toxins, so it is creating these estrogen byproducts daily. When your body creates too many bad estrogen byproducts (due to an overload of estrogen or xenobiotics), it causes inflammation – the cause of many diseases.
Unlike I3C, which is considered unstable and reactive in your body, DIM is a stable byproduct of I3C. Because it is the favorable end product of I3C, it has more specific and limited effects on estrogen. DIM produces a more modest increase in the beneficial 2-hydroxy estrogen. And it decreases 4-hydroxy estrogen by 20% or more.
But, most importantly, DIM does all this without activating AhR! In fact, it does the opposite, which sets DIM apart from I3C.
Just How Effective Is DIM?
In a landmark study published in 2004, Harvard researchers followed DIM into the nucleus of the cell and showed that it shut down the AhR system. They found that DIM actually binds the AhR receptor protein and hauls it into the nucleus. That process turns down (or off) the trouble-causing AhR. With AhR activity reduced, carcinogens become less dangerous (they do far less damage when left alone). This is a protective mechanism against xenobiotics never before described.
When study participants were given DIM, just 100 mg daily increased the ratio of 2/16 by 40%. When given 300 mg daily, the ratio increased by 100%.
Now remember, women with the lowest 2/16 ratio have the highest subsequent risk of developing breast cancer. So increasing the ratio by 40-100% greatly decreases their risk of getting breast cancer.
Not All DIM Is the Same
While the research behind DIM is pretty amazing, there is a new form of DIM that is even more spectacular. In fact, new studies show that the typical crystalline DIM does not have as strong of an impact on the ratio of 2-hydroxy estrogen to 16-hydroxy estrogen as a newly redesigned form. Why? Because DIM is not very soluble. Solubility is a key factor in nutrient absorption.
The new form, which was designed for high absorption, significantly increases the 2/16 ratio and fights disease. Just look at what it did for colleague Roger Servin:
It is a Powerful Prostate Protector
Roger is a holistic health practitioner from Naples, Florida. At 75, his PSA was 4.7. So he started taking 150 mg, two times daily of the new DIM. Within six weeks, his PSA fell to 4.1. Six months later, it was 4.0. My body fat has gone down as well, from 14% to 10% and my stomach has hardened up. I have the body of a young man, he told me.
And this is not a one-time occurrence. In a pilot clinical study, using the new form of DIM, 11 of 12 men saw a statistically significant fall in their PSA.
Dr. Michael Zelig, who performed the study (and manufactures the product), said, In at least two of these men, the use of this supplement has resulted in the disappearance of abnormal prostate cells on repeat biopsy, after preliminary biopsy showed prostate intra-epithelial neoplasia (PIN). PIN is a precursor lesion to prostate cancer with similarities to cervical cancer. PIN is equivalent to cancer before it has invaded tissue. DIM appears to enhance the cell death of abnormal prostate cells.
These are results we have not seen with traditional DIM products.
What About Breast Cancer?
Remember the results of the Harvard study on regular DIM and breast cancer? They were pretty impressive. However, the new DIM significantly outperformed it is older cousin. This time, researchers studied breast cancer survivors. The subjects were treated with 300 mg of the new micro-encapsulated DIM formulation, which contains 75 mg of absorbable DIM. In these women with a history of breast cancer, their 2/16 ratio increased by 60% compared to 0% change in the control group.
This, along with the Harvard study, proves that the 2/16 ratio can be modified in those who get cancer. And it also proves that women who are at higher risk can reduce their risk even more by using the new form of DIM. (The study also showed that recurrent breast pain, called cyclical mastalgia, could be dramatically improved with DIM, by about 66%.)
Proof That DIM Lowers Your Risk
Fortunately, we now have the technology to further prove how effective DIM is.
You know I am a fan of breast thermography, the scanning technology that looks at heat emissions within the breast. The more heat that shows up on the scan, the more likely you are to get cancer. I’ve seen two documented cases where abnormal breast thermograms were reversed on a program that included using the new formulation of DIM.
One went from a moderate risk to a low risk. Additionally, this woman reported more stable moods, increased energy levels, less abdominal girth, and an easier time losing weight.
I’ve seen evidence that uterine fibroid tumor size can be reduced over months with DIM. Fibroid tissue is estrogen sensitive.
I’ve also heard plenty of anecdotal evidence. One woman I spoke with, Barbara Rogers, told me an incredible story. Barbara was having monthly breast pain so bad that it was difficult for her to sleep or even have her children sit on her lap. Anything touching her breasts, no matter how light, caused severe pain.
A doctor suggested the new form of DIM. Within a few months, the pain vanished! She continued it for two years. Then she stopped. I did not understand the name DIM and was a little afraid of it. So I began natural progesterone, after reading of it is benefits. Within a few months, the pain returned, nearly in full. I stayed on the progesterone for one-and-a-half years. The pain remained. Then I went to another integrative physician who recommended restarting the DIM and stopped the progesterone. Within a few months, my breast pain was all gone again.
Action to Take: I strongly suggest you begin taking a high-quality DIM product. I now consider it the most important supplement for both men and women. My preference is a patented formulation of DIM found in the product BioResponse DIM. While Id like to see more independent research on this formulation, what I have seen is impressive. This unique formulation combines DIM with vitamin E and phosphatidyl choline in a process with a starch matrix. This makes it absorbable.
Just two 150 mg capsules provide absorbable DIM equivalent to eating about two pounds of raw broccoli. I recommend one per day for prevention, and two per day (one twice daily) for sustained continuous benefits if you have any inflammatory disease (especially cancer).
I do not know of any studies evaluating DIMs effects on invasive cancer. But this information strongly suggests a powerful role in it is ability to fight hormone-related cancers. Its safe, relatively inexpensive, and a natural substance with no known risk. I know of no downside to DIM.
You can find BioResponse DIM – containing DIM products in many health food stores. Or search online for BioResponse DIM. Shop for the best price.
I also recommend the book All About DIM by Dr. Michael Zelig, who was a big source of information for this article. The book is available from Vitality Fit (888-485-5851) and through most bookstores.
Ref: Eur J Cancer Prev., 2004 February;13(1):83-6; Carcinogenesis, 2000 August;21(8):1593-9; J. Biol Chem, June 2003.
Molecular and Cellular Biology, November 2003, p. 7920-7925, Vol. 23, No. 21.