The Diindolylmethane Story
Broccoli phytochemicals have been studied since the 1970s and used for health purposes since the1990s.
One of these -- diindolylmethane -- produces unique health benefits when used as a dietary supplement and represents a new generation of cruciferous vegetable "phytonutrients." Once absorbed, diindolylmethane promotes healthy estrogen metabolism in both women and men. Improved estrogen status s central to healthier perimenopause, promotes more effective hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and may contribute to cancer prevention.
Michael A. Zeligs, M.D. is the inventor of "bioavailable
" diindolylmethane, a highly absorbable form of this beneficial phytonutrient. As a physician dedicated to aging intervention, Dr. Zeligs has an extensive background that includes both clinical and academic work in the endocrinology of aging. He became interested in estrogen because, in his words, "so many of the health issues we encounter revolve around the ‘misbehaving’ of estrogen. It became evident to me after 10 to 15 years of practice that we need to do more than just perform mammograms and ultrasounds to learn what part of the body has been over-stimulated by estrogen. That doesn’t do anything about the underlying problem."
In 1996, Dr. Zeligs met the respected biochemist, H. Leon Bradlow, Ph.D., at New York’s Strang Cancer Prevention Laboratory, during a conference on hormones and aging. As an expert on estrogen, Dr. Bradlow had discovered that women with breast and uterine cancer displayed abnormal patterns of estrogen metabolism. In a later study, Dr. Bradlow also found that certain phytonutrients from cruciferous vegetables could help correct imbalances in estrogen metabolism.
But which phytonutrient in broccoli was the most beneficial? The early work with cruciferous-derived indoles in humans used Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) because it was the only cruciferous phytonutrient then readily available. However, when Dr. Zeligs collaborated with Dr. Bradlow, they discovered that I3C was not what they were after. "Our research pinpointed diindolylmethane as the most active, beneficial ingredient in cruciferous vegetables with more specific and limited enzyme activity than that of I3C,"
said Dr. Zeligs.
Until recently, no one had conducted the critical experiment of giving I3C to human subjects, to see how much was actually absorbed and present in the blood. When this research was performed by the Midwest Research Institute, only diindolylmethane not I3C, was found in the blood samples of subjects.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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