The Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (D.U.T.C.H) is an advanced hormone test which dives deep into your reproductive hormones and their metabolites to identify areas of hormonal imbalances.
Most of the woman that I see are busy, burned-out mamas or successful business executives who consistently put other people and projects ahead of themselves. These situations can definitely do a number on hormones and cortisol levels.
Cortisol is our “stress response” hormone that is release from the adrenals in a cascade called the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal -Axis (HPA-Axis). The Dutch test allows us to looks into your adrenal health using a “diurnal” (daily) pattern of cortisol. This pattern allows us to see the production of cortisol upon waking, in the middle of the day, in the evening, and before bed to analyze for possible HPA-axis dysfunction. The DUTCH test also allows us to measure this same diurnal pattern of free cortisol via cortisol metabolites in the urine to understand how your body is processing cortisol.
The Dutch test further provides a breakdown of your sex hormones to help us understand how your body is processing and detoxifying them and gives us a glimpse into your methylation ability. This information guides the recommendations for dietary changes (or supplements, if necessary) to optimize your hormone pathways.