DIM For Men: Boost Testosterone With Diindolylmethane

This article is going to look at the benefits of DIM for men, and show how this compound can increase free testosterone.

For those of you new to the world of natural testosterone supplementation, there’s a newcomer in the industry that’s bound to change the game and this compound is called DIM.

DIM stands for 3,3’ Diindolylmethane, a compound derived from the digestion of indole-3-carbinol – an antioxidant found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.

Aside from having antioxidant, anti-cancerogenic and anti-atherogenic effects, the benefits of DIM for men also include naturally increasing testosterone and lowering estrogen levels.

How Does DIM Work?

To get a better understanding of how exactly diindolylmethane works, we must go way back and start from the beginning – glucobrassicin.

Glucobrassicin is a glucosinolate, an organic compound derived from glucose and amino acids.

Glucobrassicin is found in almost all cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, etc.), and is one of the main reasons why they’re considered healthy.

When glucobrassicin comes in contact with your stomach acid, it’s degraded into a compound called indole-3-carbinol.

Apart from being broken down into DIM, indole-3-carbinol has a myriad of other health benefits that are being tested thoroughly.

It’s been shown to slow cancer cell growth and is often used as a treatment for SLE.

When indole-3-carbinol breaks down into 3,3’ diindolylmethane, a few things happen.

First, a slight increase in the amount of DIM in your blood promotes a more active metabolism of estrogen.

After the amount of unmetabolized estrogen in your blood lowers, the amount of 2-hydroxy-estrogen increases.

This estrogen derivate has the ability to displace bound testosterone from SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin), its carrier.

When the testosterone separates from the globulin, it becomes what we call active > free testosterone.

Active testosterone, being free from carrier proteins, is free to flow throughout the body.

Free flowing testosterone can easily reach your brain, your muscles, and your fat cells, and is much more potent than SHBG-bound testosterone.

DIM Benefits for Men

Apart from the obvious one (increasing the amount of active testosterone in your blood), DIM also has a myriad of other health benefits.

1. It has anti-cancerogenic properties

There have been extensive studies done on the subject of DIM and the effect it has on different kinds of cancers.

Studies done at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found that DIM can be successfully used to prevent and treat some kinds of breast and prostate cancers.

How exactly does DIM affect cancer cells remains largely unknown, as most of the studies were done on animals, and the ones done on human participants were mostly inconclusive.

However, scientists believe it comes down to DIM’s ability to inhibit angiogenesis – a process of forming new blood vessels.

Cancer is basically just a bunch of tumor cells that grow and multiply uncontrollably. And to keep growing, they need a fresh supply of blood, which DIM successfully inhibits.

Studies have also shown that a consistent intake of DIM, either through food or supplementation, can significantly lower the risk of prostate cancer in men after the age of 50.

2. It has anti-inflammatory properties

Although there haven’t been any conclusive studies done on humans, there have been quite a few promising studies done on mice that confirmed the existence of anti-inflammatory properties in DIM.

Studies have shown that DIM has a huge success rate when it comes to treating arthritis and osteoclastogenesis.

DIM contains a compound called AP-1, which is a signaling enhancement.

This activator protein enables faster and more effective reactions to inflammation, which adds up to a healthier and more active immune system.

3. It balances your hormone levels

You’d think your hormone levels stop fluctuating when you get out of puberty, but the truth is that they’re never quite constant.

There are a lot of factors, both internal and external, that have a direct effect on the number of hormones in your body.

Although it’s often put in the same basket as estrogen blockers, DIM doesn’t actually inhibit the production of estrogen.

What it actually does is promote the metabolism of extra estrogen in your body, which in turn makes the levels of active testosterone in your blood go up.

A stable hormonal balance is one of the more important indicators of a man’s overall health and well-being, so getting the right amount of DIM in should be at the top of your list when it comes to diet and supplementation.

4. It acts as a CYP modifier

DIM is a compound that has the ability to modify and enhance the function of CYPs in your body.

CYP stands for cytochrome, which is a protein that contains heme and acts as enzymes to a lot of important processes in your body.

CYPs are responsible for regulating and increasing the production of steroid hormones – which includes testosterone, both active and bound.

CYPs also block the production of aromatase, the enzyme responsible for the synthesis of estrogens.

DIM Supplements

Despite the fact that DIM is pretty abundant in plants and vegetables, it can be pretty tricky to get your required daily dosage solely through food.

Most of these vegetables (cauliflower, kale, etc.) are pretty low in calories and high in fiber, so eating a lot of them would require a drastic change in your diet.

That’s where DIM supplements come in.

Most of these supplements come in the form of tablets and contain anywhere from 15g to 25g of DIM concentrate.

For a healthy adult male, this should be an adequate daily dosage.

Although almost all of the DIM supplements on the market are FDA-approved and deemed safe for consumption, there are a few negative side-effects associated with their abuse.

If you fail to stick to the recommended dosage, there’s a possibility of developing headaches and stomach aches.

Upping the daily dosage to 600mg or more can result in hyponatremia (low serum sodium levels).

Best DIM Supplements

DIM as a Natural Testosterone Booster

To sum everything up, DIM can be safely and effectively used as a natural testosterone booster.

Its value lies in its ability to increase the metabolism of estrogen without having a negative effect on your overall health.

All of the benefits associated with estrogen (protection from heart disease, maintaining bone density, and protecting the outer layer of the brain), while the levels of active testosterone in your blood significantly increase.

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