Heal Your Breakouts with Optimized DIM & D-Glucarate
While it is possible to simply increase your consumption of cruciferous vegetables in order to raise your levels of DIM, two capsules of Optimized DIM & D-Glucarate provide more I3C than 2 lbs of veggies! (And you’d need to eat those veggies raw - heat destroys I3C.) Most women begin to notice some positive changes in their skin within 4-6 weeks of beginning DIM and D-glucarate, but best results are generally achieved after 4- 6 months of use.
Acne is the most common skin disease in North America.
At any age, acne can be psychologically devastating, and because acne is directly affected by both the amount of sebum our oil glands produce and the level of inflammatory enzymes present in our tissues, its occurrence is often mediated by hormones - both our naturally-produced ones and synthetic ones we are exposed to in the environment.
Begin Within
We know that our skin often reflects that status of our general health, so it makes sense to treat persistent, hormonally-mediated acne from within. There is a natural, plant-sourced way to support hormonal balance and estrogen metabolism. DIM is a phyto-chemical that helps balance estrogen and testosterone while facilitating the detoxification of xenoestrogens, which results in clearer skin - all month long.
What is DIM?
DIM (diindolylmethane) is a metabolite of Indole 3 Carbinol (I3C). I3C is found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and kale. When you eat these kinds of vegetables, your body turns the I3C that they contain into DIM. Research suggests that DIM stimulates the production of the more beneficial form of estrogen while supporting the conversion of testosterone into estrogen. DIM also stimulates detoxifying enzymes in your gut and liver, thus aiding in the removal of harmful xenoestrogens from the body. (1)
Hormones Must be Balanced to be Healthy
Estrogen dominance occurs when too much estrogen is present relative to our other sex hormones - progesterone and testosterone. Estrogen dominance occurs for many reasons, including: obesity, unmanaged stress, overconsumption of alcohol or liver toxicity or disease, digestive disorders, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
Estrogen Dominance and our Skin
The effects of estrogen dominance on the skin occurs in an indirect way. Progesterone blocks testosterone in females - specifically dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. The lower than normal levels of progesterone relative to estrogen means that DHT remains unopposed and therefore exerts a greater-than-normal androgenic effect on the skin. (2) An increased androgenic influence on the sebaceous glands means increased sebum production and inflammation - both critical precursors to acne breakouts.
How to Tell if Your Acne is a Result of Estrogen Dominance
When a woman has estrogen dominance, her acne is likely to be most pronounced during the luteal (second) phase of her menstrual cycle. It is during the second phase that progesterone should be dominant, but due to the high levels of estrogen-blocking progesterone, DHT will continue to promote acne.(3) Interestingly, estrogen dominance is now also linked to hair loss in women, with high testosterone levels thought to negatively affect the follicles similarly to what is typically seen in men.
Some “Hormones” are Particularly Volatile
There is another category of “estrogens” which can wreak havoc on our skin (and overall health) - xenoestrogens. They are chemicals found in plastics, pesticides and herbicides, many conventional household cleaning products and some pharmaceuticals. Xenoestrogens are close enough in size and shape to our own estrogens that they are able to fit into our estrogen receptors, even though they don’t belong there. While the research is just beginning, the link between xenoestrogens and hormonally-mediated acne has been documented in metabolic pathways mediated by not only estrogens, but androgens, IGF-1, and CRH/cortisol. (4)
Calcium D-Glucarate’s Role
Once DIM has supported the metabolism, or breaking apart, of active estrogens into estrogen metabolites, it is calcium D-glucarate’s job to bind to those metabolites and escort them out of the body, making sure they do not get reabsorbed along the way. Calcium D-glucarate is also necessary for the removal of toxic xenoestrogens, and supports the excretion of old, used estrogens from the system. (5)
How To Use DIM & D-Glucarate for Clearer Skin
While it is possible to simply increase your consumption of cruciferous vegetables in order to raise your levels of DIM, two capsules of Optimized DIM & D-Glucarate provide more I3C than 2 lbs of veggies! (And you’d need to eat those veggies raw - heat destroys I3C.) Most women begin to notice some positive changes in their skin within 4-6 weeks of beginning DIM and D-glucarate, but best results are generally achieved after 4- 6 months of use.
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