Hi guys, Happy St Patty’s Day!

I’m off work today so catching up laundry, errands, blogging and the juicy reality show, Vanderpump Rules. I just started this show and I’m on season 5. After hearing about the recent scandal that is going on after 10 seasons, I had to check it out. Love a good reality show. It’s a guilty pleasure, okay. I live a very present, simple, peaceful, loving life, that sometimes it’s fun to watch the intense drama. LOL.

Today’s post is my experience with a supplement called DIM. And how I believe it really helped balance my hormones, and therefore clear the hormonal breakouts I was experiencing.

Since the age of 14 I have had challenges with my skin. In my late teens into my early 20’s my skin cleared up a lot due to prescribed a hormonal birth control. However the other negative side effects that I was experiencing were not worth the clear skin unfortunately. A lot of woman respond well to birth control and don’t have any issues. As always, you have to listen to your own body and do what is best for you! I had tried MANY different birth control pills and did not like any of them. So I decided to permanently get off birth control pills. Once that was out of my system, my skin started having monthly flare ups that seemed to correlate with my menstrual cycle. What we like to call “hormonal acne”. Throughout the years I’ve eliminated dairy, soy, and started implementing non comedogenic skin-care products into my routine. All of this definitely helped, so I don’t want to discount that, but I was still suffering from monthly breakouts that were stubborn, painful, inflamed and consistently around my chin, jaw, neck area, but definitely less than before.

I did some research on this supplement called DIM, Dilndoylmethane about 18 months ago. Since taking this supplement every day, I am so happy to say my skin has never been more clear. I know that at the end of the day, it’s just skin and there are much more important things in life, but when you are dealing with breakouts it does effect how you feel emotionally and physically. When you are in your early 30’s you’ve already dealt with all of this, lol. I fully expected to start seeing signs of aging but that combined WITH acne is just not fun and quite the challenge.

What is DIM & how does it work?

Diindolylmethane is a compound derived from the digestion of indole-3-carbinol, found in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and kale. Additionally, DIM has been shown to inhibit an enzyme called aromatase, which converts testosterone to estrogen. In order to get amount of DIM from these vegetables daily you would have to consume A LOT. So it comes in a convenient supplement.

There are a lot of other studies on using this supplement for other hormonal conditions. Personally I wanted to try this out to help balance my hormones since I knew my breakouts were directly due to an imbalance in my hormones. Like I mentioned before, my breakouts were consistently around my lower face and neck area, which is directly effected by your hormones. I have not had any negative side effects from taking this but, there are some. Like with any supplements, each person can have a different reaction. So if you are thinking about implementing this into your routine, do your own research and discuss it with your health care provider. It is best to consult taking any new supplements with your doctor especially if you taking other medications. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it can’t conflict with other medications. Hormones play such a vital role in our over all wellbeing so you don’t want to mess with that.

I have been taking *Zhou Dim Active. It has 250mg of DIM per capsule. I take one a day. This brand has good standards. Truth, trust and transparency.

From their website: If it’s going in your body, there should be no question about the contents or quality. That’s why at Zhou Nutrition, we test all of our ingredients at intake as well as all of our finished products to ensure you’re getting exactly what we promise, and nothing more or less. All of our facilities are subject to strict GMP (Good Manufacturing Processes) Standards and we lab-verify all incoming ingredients and finished formulas. Our goal is to make supplements we take ourselves, and we have some damn high standards.

If you are like me and are still suffering from hormonal breakouts in your 30’s, this is definitely worth looking into. I consulted with my doctor first before starting this supplement to ensure it was right for me. My skin has never been more clear! It took about a full month of taking this for me to notice results. I am able to do my skin care routine and smile. It has also played a role in my overall mood when I am on my period and the week leading up to it. I just feel so much more balanced.

XO,

Charlene