DUTCH Hormone Test
Get details about your reproductive and adrenal hormones, sleep, nutrients, brain chemicals and antioxidants
Conventional hormone tests are like unearthing a few dinosaur fossil shards and then trying to understand what that dinosaur might look like. The DUTCH hormone test unearths more fossils – fossils that are intact and that provide a blueprint of where they would be in the skeleton. This makes it much easier to visualize how that dinosaur should look like.
Conventional hormone tests are like unearthing a few dinosaur fossil shards and then trying to understand what that dinosaur might look like. The DUTCH hormone test unearths more fossils – fossils that are intact and that provide a blueprint of where they would be in the skeleton. This makes it much easier to visualize how that dinosaur should look like.
What is the DUTCH hormone test?
DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones. The DUTCH hormone test goes above and beyond other hormone tests in providing details for understanding the complex pathways of hormones in your body.
Other hormone tests provide some static information about a handful of hormones. Unfortunately, this information is not often detailed enough for us to determine why some of them may be at abnormal levels or why you are suffering from symptoms of hormone imbalance.
Specifically, the DUTCH test provides details about hormones and their intermediates to understand their ebb and flow in your body, giving you a complete picture of your hormonal state of health.
The complete DUTCH hormone test also measures many other biomarkers that help you to understand many aspects of your health. Besides sex hormones, it helps you to assess your adrenals and stress tolerance, neurotransmitters, sleep hormones, vitamin deficiencies, protection against toxins and DNA damage.
Why would I do the complete DUTCH hormone test?
If you have symptoms that you suspect may come from imbalances in your body, then the DUTCH test is a great way to understand the potential source of the problem. In addition, it gives much more data than any other hormone test. With this information, we can better assess which hormone system is out of balance and needs addressing.
The complete DUTCH test can tell you about all of the following:
- imbalances in your sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHT, DHEAS and many more)
- important neurotransmitters levels (dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine)
- how your body – and adrenals – are dealing with stress (multiple daily points of cortisol and cortisone, your stress hormones)
- sleep hormone imbalances (melatonin)
- vitamin deficiencies and/or compromised ability to use vitamins (vitamin B6, vitamin B12)
- your ability to protect your cell from toxins and DNA damage (glutathione)
- an indication of DNA damage via oxidative stress (using a chemical biomarker)
What does it tell me about my sleep?
The DUTCH test provides you with data about your melatonin levels. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by a small gland in your brain, called the pineal gland. The role of melatonin is to support your natural sleep state.
During a normal sleep cycle, melatonin levels increase at night time and are much lower during the day. Thus, the DUTCH test will help you to determine if abnormal melatonin levels are related to your disrupted sleep pattern.
How does the DUTCH hormone test tell me about my stress levels?
The DUTCH test won’t tell you what is causing you stress. Also, it won’t tell you how much stress you are under.
More importantly, what it does is provide an understanding of how your body is responding to stress.
You would be hard-pressed to find someone who is not under any stress. Some stresses can be resolved or eliminated, but others cannot. For this reason, the most important metric is how your body is being affected by cumulative stresses.
By measuring adrenal function, we can gain insight into how your body is tolerating stress. Normally, your adrenals secrete hormones that help your body to tolerate stress.
When you have been under chronic long-term stress, your adrenals are taxed. As a result, one or more of your adrenal hormone levels may show outside of a healthy normal range.
What important insights will the OAT (organic acid test) component of the DUTCH test provide me?
The OAT component measures something called organic acids. Organic acids are metabolites (broken down molecules) of important vitamins, neurotransmitters (molecules that help the brain to function normally) and detoxification molecules. These metabolites are reliable markers that correspond to the concentration of vitamins, neurotransmitters and other protective molecules in the body.
Consequently, measuring the levels of these metabolites in the urine gives us insight into potential imbalances in neurotransmitters, nutrient deficiencies or detoxification issues.
Regarding nutrients, it assesses vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 status. More specifically, it can indicate whether or not your body is using these vitamins adequately (ie. even if blood levels appear normal). These two vitamins are critical to the healthy functioning of many systems in the body. They play integral roles in supporting the endocrine, immune and nervous systems.
Regarding neurotransmitters, it assesses for dopamine and norepinephrine/epinephrine levels. These play a large role in regulating your mood, energy, addictions, cravings, stress response and anxiety.
Additionally, the OAT component measures for two other markers that are important for our body to protect itself. The first compound it assesses for is glutathione, which is an important antioxidant compound in your body’s detoxification pathway. Finally, it measures for another marker that helps estimate potential DNA damage and oxidative stress.
No refunds or returns after 90 days of purchase.
Consult with our Naturopathic Doctor, Dr.Makoto Trotter, ND to determine if the DUTCH hormone test is right for you. Then, he can review the results and discuss potential treatment options to address your hormonal imbalances and improve your quality of life.
Book an appointment or contact Zentai Wellness Centre for further inquiries.