Have you ever noticed the difference between men and women's ability to lose weight? A man can simply stop eating junk food and two weeks later will have lost ten pounds. On the other hand, after hours in a gym and weeks of calorie counting many women will have not lost a pound. The main reason for this huge difference is an imbalance of too much estrogen as compared to lower levels of progesterone, which is called estrogen dominance. This imbalance leads to weight gain and obesity, as well as cervical dysplasia, breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers. Up until now, women have been told that the only way to treat a hormone related health problem is to take additional hormones. However, the correct answer is finding a balance of hormones, which can be done by using diindolylmethane (DIM), a powerful nutrient that is found in broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables that have a direct effect on hormone balance. This does not mean that eating broccoli will eliminate estrogen dominance. When broccoli is chewed, plant enzymes are activated that release healthy compounds. However, many of these compounds are too unstable to constantly provide health benefits. In turn, these unstable compounds lead to the release of diindolylmethane, which is a very stable compound. Although broccoli is a very nutritious vegetable, we would have to eat at least two pounds of broccoli each and every day in order to get the adequate amounts of DIM. Thanks to ongoing research, the development of a stable pure DIM dietary supplement with special absorption enhancing formulas has been created. These DIM supplements can easily and efficiently restore hormonal balance and eliminate the symptoms of estrogen dominance.

The estrogen hormone tells cells in the body to grow. Throughout our lives, estrogen has important a vital functions such as orchestrating menstruation from the time we reach puberty through the time we reach menopause, keeping our bones strong, and maintaining low cholesterol levels. Estrogen is made in our ovaries and then sent through our bloodstream, where it comes in contact with every cell in our body. However, only certain cells with estrogen receptors will respond to its presence.

Estrogen dominance is characterized by an abundance of symptoms. Some of these symptoms include: mood swings, feeling anxious, painful periods, sore breasts, hot flashes, night sweats, foggy thinking, low libido, problematic PMS, and stubborn weight gain. It can begin by exposure to estrogen mimics (xenoestrogens), which are certain chemicals in the environment such as pesticides, plastics, soaps, emulsifiers, household cleaning products, and even car exhaust. These estrogen mimics look and act enough like natural estrogens that our body accepts them as estrogen. They latch on to estrogen receptors on cancer cells, and signal the cancer cell to grow and divide, making the cancer spread. They can also latch onto estrogen receptors on healthy cells and send false signals, or block the natural estrogen hormone from binding to its receptor, causing more estrogen to circulate in the bloodstream. Estrogen dominance can also be caused by a slow estrogen metabolism. If the rate of the metabolism that breaks down estrogen after they complete the activity on their target cells is too slow, an excess of unmetabolized estrogen is left circulating the body.

Researchers have also discovered that estrogen can be metabolized in two different pathways in the liver, which results in two different kinds of estrogen, ?good? and ?bad? estrogen. ?Good? estrogen metabolites are released into the bloodstream there they cause many of the benefits estrogen provides, such as prevention of heart disease, and strong, healthy bones. ?Bad? estrogen, in large quantities, can result in many health problems including autoimmune disorders, breast cancer, cervical dysplasia, clinical depression, fibroid tumors, infertility, magnesium deficiency, osteoporosis, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, and zinc deficiency.

When dealing with estrogen dominance, it is not a good idea to take more progesterone to even out hormonal balance. Taking more progesterone won't necessarily restore hormonal balance. Rather, it might be metabolized into more estrogen, resulting in an even greater hormonal imbalance and greater estrogen dominance. Instead, one should take the DIM supplement, which improves hormonal balance and eliminated estrogen dominance by shifting the way that estrogen is metabolized in our body. This creates more ?good? estrogen metabolites and less ?bad? estrogen metabolites. Although it does not increase or decrease estrogen levels, it directs how the estrogen is metabolized.

Research has suggested that DIM may also help to prevent breast cancer. After studying a group of women for periods up to nineteen years, the women who developed breast cancer were noted to have a significantly lower ratio of ?good? estrogen metabolites as compared to ?bad? estrogen metabolites. In comparison, those who did not develop breast cancer had a high ratio of ?good? estrogen metabolites to ?bad? estrogen metabolites. Scientists have determined that DIM actually inhibits the growth of cancer cells. It enhances the activity of enzymes found in certain pathways of the liver, which are important for the healthy estrogen metabolism that reduces the risk of cancer development.

When buying a DIM supplement, it is suggested that you read the label of the DIM product you're going to buy. Be certain that you are getting 120 mg of DIM complex, which is standardized to 30 mg DIM per dose. Because DIM is very hard to absorb, the products needs to be in a specialized complex that improves bioavailability. Although most women only need one dose of DIM per day, women suffering with a large amount of estrogen dominance symptoms may find greater relief by doubling the dose and taking DIM twice a day. Because some women may have a minor stomach ache after taking DIM, taking the supplement with food will eliminate the problem. Research of DIM's safety has shown no harmful effects, even when the doses were at hundreds of times the amount provided in the supplements. A common side effect of DIM is a harmless changing of the color of your urine. Because these changes can occur when you eat a large amount of broccoli or asparagus also, drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day will solve the problem.

If you have estrogen dominance, adding more hormones will only put you at a greater risk for cancer. Instead, restore your hormonal balance by taking the powerful, all-natural DIM supplement. DIM can be found at your local Health Food Store or Internet Health Food Store.