The DUTCH test is a dried urine and saliva test, that you do at home over a day.  It is the most advanced comprehensive test for adrenal and reproductive hormones.

Cortisol

With the DUTCH test we are able to see if your body is making enough cortisol and if it's being kept in the right form and not being broken down to cortisone, which is inactive and we can't use.

Many times people are diagnosed with 'adrenal fatigue' and given treatment for this which generally includes supplements and/or herbs to increase cortisol production. A lot of the time 'production' is not the problem but is the body converting it too quickly into a cortisone, the form we can't use and the treatment is therefore completely different.

DUTCH + CAR - tests the cortisol awakening response, which gives us the ability to see a 'mini stress test' from the HPA axis. The act of 'waking up' acts as a stress on the HPA axis (brain). By collecting your saliva the moment you wake up, as well as 30 and 60 minutes later, it offers us a window to see into HPA axis function. We get to see if your HPA axis is responding accordingly and if your cortisol throughout the night is low, normal or high, by testing you as soon as you wake up.

All this info tells us if the problem is a brain one (inflammation), or organ production of the hormones and we can target treatment a whole lot better.

Reproductive or sex hormones

Blood testing of hormones is good but DUTCH is nice because it shows us the metabolites of the hormones. The value of knowing the metabolites is that we can see what the body is doing with these primary hormones, and how you are breaking them down. It shows us how we are detoxifying estrogens as an example, and what pathway our body favours. This is important to know because some estrogen dependent cancers favour a certain pathway and if we know this we can direct them onto a more healthier one, and generally direct treatment more appropriately.

The DUTCH test is able to tell us how much of each type of estrogen or testosterone you have, along with progesterone levels. It shows us how it is being broken down by your body and if you have high levels of the more potent form of the hormone. This is helpful if you are female and showing signs of high estrogen. We can see if it's because you don't have enough progesterone and therefore the ratio is out, or if it's because your estrogen is not being metabolised down the desired pathway and you're not breaking it down efficiently, or if you are likely recycling it. 

For the guys as well as girls we can see if you are making too much of the more potent form of testosterone that can lead to male patterned baldness, acne and hirsutism. Girls also get their testosterone checked and guys get their estrogen checked. 

DUTCH shows us how much DHEA (the youth hormone) we have.

Why dried

Through data and research it has shown that dried urine and saliva tests the same as fresh. Dried is a whole lot easier to collect and enables the test to be done at different times of the day to get the pattern.

Who needs it?

For those with problems relating to menstrual irregularities, fibroids, PCOS, heavy periods, no periods, hirsutism, acne (the DUTCH test shows us if we testosterone favours a more androgenic pathway) infertility/problems conceiving, fatigue, depression (linked to an exaggerated HPA axis)

What gets tested

Estrogen and its metabolites, progesterone and its metabolites, testosterone, cortisol, cortisone, DHEA-S, DHEA, etiocholanolone, androsterone, 5a-reductase activity, melatonin and depending on what version of the test you get - markers for B12, B6, glutathione, dopamine, noradrenalin, serotonin and oxidative stress/DNA damage.

How do I do it?

The test gets done in the comfort of your own home. If you'd like to order a DUTCH test kit or have any questions, please contact us here.