[swuglyfe]

Love this thread, there was previously a thread tangentially related which taught me a lot and I contributed to. I have now studied this extensively, because when I first started cutting estrogen and naturally boosting test the changes on my body were immense. My parents gave me soymilk and tofu at a very young age, which I believe was a huge reason I became extremely overweight with bitch tits throughout middle and even high school. Hopefully my additions will be useful to others.

When I first tried lifting and exercising after discovering RVF, I hit a very low plateau from which I couldn't advance. I firmly believe this was the result of estrogen dominance preventing further weight loss or muscle gain. Now on a regular supplementation regimen, my fat has melted away and my gains from properly lifting have been increased substantially.

I take a cocktail of supplements specifically for this hormone balance.
Source Naturals Calcium D-Glucarate
Evolved Diindolylmethane
Swanson Indole-3-Carbinol

Calcium-d-Glucarate (CDG) is a natural substance produced by all mammals, including humans. Small amounts are also found in fruits and vegetables. Early humans were able to get enough calcium-d-glucarate from their own production since they ate relatively low amounts of toxins and lived in a clean environment. As toxin exposure has increased, humans need more calcium-d-glucarate to excrete the extra toxins.

High levels of beta-glucuronide increase the number of estrogen receptors. This means estrogen that would have been excreted is now able to bind to more receptors. This can cause increased tissue growth, cancer, and even man boobs. In one study, calcium-d-glucarate was able to reduce the number of estrogen receptors by 48 percent. It’s also been shown to lower serum estrogen levels by 23 percent.

Here is the CDG research, also as a cancer fighting agent and liver detox promoter.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...3002002005

DIM was detectable in thyroid tissue, serum, and urine of patients after 14 days of supplementation. Urine analyses revealed that DIM modulated estrogen metabolism in patients with TPD. There was an increase in the ratio of 2-hydroxyestrones (C-2) to 16α-hydroxyestrone (C-16), consistent with antiestrogenic activity that results in more of C-2 product compared with C-16.

Our preclinical thyroid cell culture models strongly implicated the role of estradiol (12) and indicate that DIM is an indirect modulator of estradiol-mediated mitotic activity. Our data suggest that DIM enhances estrogen metabolism in TPD patients and can potentially serve as an antiestrogenic dietary supplement to help reduce the risk of developing TPD. The fact that DIM is detected in thyroid tissue implicates that it can manifest its antiestrogenic activity in situ to modulate TPD.

Here is the research on DIM:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048776/

Studies increasingly indicate that dietary indole-3-carbinol (I3C) prevents the development of estrogen-enhanced cancers including breast, endometrial and cervical cancers. Epidemiological, laboratory, animal and translational studies support the efficacy of I3C. Whereas estrogen increases the growth and survival of tumors, I3C causes growth arrest and increased apoptosis and ameliorates the effects of estrogen.

Here is the research on I3C:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12840226

These three chemicals are important not only for their reduction of estrogen through metabolizing it, and allowing the body to flush it, but also as aromatase inhibitors. Aromatase is an enzyme which metabolizes testosterone into estrogen. Factors known to increase aromatase activity include age, obesity, insulin, gonadotropins, and alcohol. So if you start to gain weight, as I did, you will be sucked into a downward spiral. Increased adipose tissue will cause more aromatase activity, further increasing estrogen's dominance and the breakdown of testosterone, making it harder and harder to get fit, get trim, and reverse the trend. Add age and alcohol, and maybe diabetes into the mix, and you have a perfect storm for the epidemic of super low-T beer-belly guys we have in the West.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...6004004091
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bi00...ode=bichaw

Getting rid of excess estrogen which is absolutely in your body unless you live naturally off the grid in rural New Mexico or something is only the FIRST STEP. The second step is to reduce, as much as possible, the amount of estrogen you are exposed to from chemicals and the environment, which I will discuss in the next post.