DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones. It is the gold standard for hormone testing as it assesses the hormone production and hormone metabolites called conjugates. This gives a clear picture as to how the body is utilising the hormones and breaking them down.
The DUTCH test measures these hormones and metabolites:
- Total metabolised cortisol – this shows you how much cortisol your body is making over the entire day and can be very different to the free cortisol level. The amount of cortisol you are producing will help to guide your treatment plan.
- Total cortisone – tells us how quickly your body is deactivating cortisol to cortisone
- Free cortisol – this shows you the active levels of cortisol in your body, the level and rhythm of free cortisol will help to guide your treatment plan.
- Free cortisone – plus the metabolites of cortisone to show how quickly cortisol is getting deactivated to cortisone, this will help to guide us on the best treatment strategy for you
- Tetrahyrdocortisone – this is a metabolite of cortisone
a-tetrahydrocortisol – this is a metabolite of cortisol
b-tetrahydrocortisol – this is a metabolite of cortisol - DHEAs – is a precursor to testosterone and oestrogen, a high level can indicate PCOS and inflammation, a low level can indicate adrenal insufficiency
- Testosterone – there is an optimal range for men and women which is associated with vitality and wellbeing, low levels can affect mood, fertility, libido and athletic performance.
- Progesterone metabolites – (a-pregnanediol, b-pregnanediol) will indicate your total progesterone levels, these are also precursors to make the neurotransmitter GABA. Low progesterone levels can lead to PMS symptoms and infertility
- Androgen metabolites of DHEAS and Testosterone – this is important to assess how well your body is processing testosterone, if it is metabolised down the 5a-DHT pathway this can cause hair loss, skin problems, aggression and even increase prostate cancer risk in men.
- Oestrogen’s – which includes estrone, estradiol, estriol, the balance between oestrogen and progesterone is important for fertility, PMS and menopausal symptoms
- Oestrogen metabolites – these metabolites show how your body is detoxifying estrogen and if this is not done correctly it can increase your risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, cysts and fibroids.
- 6-OH-melatonin-sulfate – which assesses melatonin production, low melatonin can affect sleep quality making it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. Melatonin also has antioxidant affects which can help to protect the brain and improve mood.
- Neurotransmitters – B12, B6 and glutathione
How does it work?
Make contact with me – I will need some details from you for me to register you with my lab. I will send a link for you to order and pay for the test kit. It will be posted to you with easy to follow instructions that you can administer in the privacy of your own home.
The cost of the kit, report and the interpretation appointment with me is $571
Your DUTCH Test Kit will arrive within 2-5 days depending on your location.
The test kit uses a special litmus paper to collect your urine samples. You provide 4-5 samples. Let them dry overnight. Then you ship the kit back to the lab for processing.
Once the report is ready (this can take 2-4 weeks), I will email you to book a time to talk about the results.
I will then send you details and information on how to rectify the hormone imbalance if there is one. I will also quote for any herbal/supplements. I post worldwide.
