We have been speaking to so many of you recently about our DUTCH hormone testing. So, I thought it was time I jumped in and gave you some info.
At the beginning of my Naturopath journey, I relied on blood or saliva testing to better understand my client's underlying hormone imbalance. And although that helped me start, I often found missing information – or even though I treated the person based on their results, we were not getting the desired outcome. Fast-forward five years into my journey, I discovered a whole new world. The world of the DUTCH Plus - now this was like nothing I had seen before. It was what I had been searching for!
What is DUTCH testing?
DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Testing for Comprehensive Hormones. It is a way we can see the whole picture of what hormones your body is making and excreting through your urine metabolites. These metabolites allow us to look deeper into HOW your hormones are behaving in the body. We can see how well you detoxify your hormones, what influence your hormones are having on your symptoms and what areas need working on to balance your hormones. Therefore, more targeted treatment plans give you a quicker result.
How is it different to saliva testing?
Our saliva only holds around 3-5% of our total hormones. Therefore it can give us an indication, but a big picture is missing here. The DUTCH Plus utilises the two forms of collection- saliva and urine so we can measure how fast your body uses your cortisol, which may lead to further fatigue and inflammation. By comparing your salivary cortisol and your urine metabolites of cortisol, we can see how your body is truly behaving and start treating your adrenal symptoms exactly how they want to be supported rather than basing it on the 3-5% in your tissues.
What types of conditions benefit from DUTCH testing?
We often see women who are fed up with being told their hormones are “normal”.
DUTCH testing can reveal metabolites associated with the following conditions:
- Endometriosis
- Fibroids
- PCOS
- Acne
- Weight gain
- PMS
- Period pain
- Heavy periods
- Irregular periods
- Breast and uterine cancers
- Hormonal headaches and migraines
- Insulin resistance
- Anxiety and insomnia
- Fatigue and exhaustion
- Facial hair
- Hair loss
- Peri to post-menopause
- Low libido
- and so much more ……..
What hormones does it test for?
- The 3 Estrogens
- Androgens, including Testosterone, DHT and DHEA-S
- Progesterone
- Cortisol
- Melatonin
- 8-OHdG
- OATS markers- B12, B6, melatonin, noradrenaline, dopamine and oxidative damage
How are the tests done?
What we love about DUTCH testing is it is all done in the comfort of your own home. You collect 5 times across the day, in a morning interval and evening, so we can assess your full-day hormone picture. For cycling women, we test days 19-21, or if you have irregular cycles, we can discuss further when is the right time for you. For post-menopausal women, we can test any day.
Test kits are recommended as part of our Naturopath consultations. Whilst we wait for your results, we often start working on the more obvious driving factors of your hormones, for example, gut and diet and then once results are back, we can dive straight into deeper support.
If you feel like you have reached the point of really wanting to know what you can do about your hormones, you can jump on and book a discovery call to find out more with one of our Naturopaths.
