The Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH) can provide valuable insights into women’s hormonal health and fertility.
Table of Contents
The DUTCH test measures levels of hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol, along with their metabolites. By assessing hormone levels at crucial points within your cycle, this test can identify imbalances or irregularities in hormone production and metabolism that may contribute to symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, trouble conceiving, mood swings, fatigue, acne, unwanted hair growth, or weight gain.
The test is performed four times over 24 hours to monitor changing hormone levels throughout the day comprehensively. This approach ensures a thorough understanding of your hormone levels. For example, the test examines cortisol levels, which fluctuate throughout the day. This test can help identify symptoms like insomnia and morning brain fog that a single blood test might miss by capturing fluctuations such as low morning cortisol and high evening cortisol.
The test also captures metabolites that are not obtained in a blood test. These metabolites provide valuable information. For example, a blood test may read you have high estrogen levels. However, it wouldn’t explain the why. The DUTCH test, on the other hand, captures estrogen metabolites such as 2-OH-E1. By analyzing these metabolites, it is possible to identify if there is an issue with a slow liver and in which phase of liver clearance the problem lies. Different treatment approaches are needed for Phase 1 and Phase 2 liver clearance.
DUTCH test sample result
The test indicates that the patient is experiencing estrogen dominance and requires support for phase 1 liver detoxification. After treating the patient with DIM and retesting, estrogen levels improved. However, it’s crucial not to administer DIM if the issue lies within phase 2, as it could increase circulating estrogen. This example demonstrates the importance of not relying on guesswork. Making the wrong guess could worsen the situation.
Hormones tested
Cortisol
Cortisol provides insight into the function of your adrenals, helping to identify abnormalities in your body’s stress response. Issues can cause sleep problems, burnout, blood sugar fluctuations, and anxiety.
Estrogen
The test measures estrogen levels and estrogen metabolism through various pathways. It assesses the production of protecting or harmful metabolites that contribute to cancers and influence breast health and reproductive function.
Progesterone
Progesterone helps assess the luteal phase of your reproductive cycle, which is essential to understanding fertility issues, irregular periods, PCOS, and perimenopause.
Testosterone
Testosterone and androgen levels provide insight into acne symptoms, excess hair growth, and fertility or libido concerns.
Additional markers
More markers are included, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, MMA (for B12 status), Xanthurenate (for B6 status) and Pyroglutamate (for glutathione status). These markers help with hormone metabolism/detoxification.
How to get tested
Feel free to contact me for more details or to book a test. I’d love to chat with you and provide a consultation.
Alternatively if you’re interesting in reading about hormonal conditions, check out part 1 of my ultimate hormone guide.
