Why All Women Should Take the DUTCH Complete Hormone Test

What is the DUTCH Complete hormone test? Well, it has nothing to do with DUTCH people but stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones.DUTCH Hormone Test Review

So why should all women take the DUTCH Complete hormone test? 

How is it different from blood tests or saliva testing for hormones?

And more importantly, how can it help you balance your hormones and help prevent problems from occurring?

In this article, I am going to answer all of these questions, explain what exactly the DUTCH test does and how you can order the DUTCH Complete hormone test online.

What Is The DUTCH Complete Hormone Test?

The DUTCH Complete hormone test is a urine test that measures your sex hormones, adrenal hormones plus organic acid markers for B vitamins and neurotransmitters.

You can measure your sex hormones with a blood test or saliva test, but with the DUTCH test, you can assess a whole lot more. You can measure how your body processes hormones which can help explain why your hormones are out of balance.

Read also: DUTCH Hormone Test Review

The Sex Hormones Measured by the DUTCH Complete test

The DUTCH Complete test shows:

• The three different types of estrogen (estradiol, estrone, and estriol)
• How your body is detoxifying estrogen through phase one liver detoxification
• How you’re processing estrogen through the methylation process which is to do with your COMT gene
• If you have enough glutathione, which is also important in the process of detoxing estrogen (and other environmental toxins)
• Your progesterone levels
• Testosterone levels plus 5a-DHT, which is the more androgenic version of testosterone that is a biomarker for PCOS, acne, and hair loss
• How your body is processing testosterone
• DHEA and DHEA-S levels

So this covers a lot more than a blood test or saliva test, and this is just the sex hormone part of the test.

The Adrenal Hormones Measured by the DUTCH Complete Test 

The DUTCH Complete test assesses:

• Total cortisol production
• Free cortisol levels plus the rhythm of cortisol measured 4-5 times throughout the day (and night)
• Free cortisone levels that help understand how your body is processing cortisol
• Melatonin levels, that help determine if sleep issues are caused by a lack of melatonin or excessive cortisol levels

A blood test only measures total cortisol levels at one point during the day, so it misses the natural changing levels of cortisol. A saliva test only measures the free cortisol but it is important to understand how much total cortisol you are making.

Without all of this information, it is hard to implement a treatment plan that can help support adrenal function.

The Organic Acid Markers Measured by the DUTCH Complete Test 

The DUTCH Complete test assesses:

• Methylmalonic acid, which tests your cellular B12 levels (more accurate than a blood test)
• Xanthurenat and kynurenate, which are inflammation markers that indicate a B6 deficiency
• Pyroglutamate, which helps determine if you have a glutathione deficiency
• Neurotransmitter metabolites for dopamine, and norepinephrine that can affect mood, energy, and cognitive issues
• Oxidative stress marker – high levels can lead to DNA damage and increased risk of cancer, knowing your levels help you to be proactive to reduce the risk

None of these markers are assessed in the standard blood test or saliva testing.

Why Women Should Do The DUTCH Complete Hormone Test

If you have problems with PMS, fatigue, low libido, or weight gain these are all obvious signs that you should do the DUTCH test to help identify the underlying cause.

But what if you feel good, should you still test? 

That depends, but I think it would be great for all women to do the DUTCH Complete hormone test at least once just to see how well their body processes estrogen.

High estrogen levels combined with poor detoxification of estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and fibroids. Knowing this information can help you to be proactive in reducing the risk of cancer.

This is probably more important if you have a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. 

10 Conditions The DUTCH Complete Hormone Test Can Help With

PMS or PMDD Symptoms

Do you feel like your life gets turned upside down for 1-2 weeks of the month? If you experience depression, anxiety, mood swings, pain, breast tenderness, and other PMS symptoms, this is not normal.

These symptoms are caused by an imbalance in your estrogen and progesterone levels and the DUTCH test can help identify if it is because of too much estrogen, poor detox of estrogen, or not enough progesterone.

Fertility Problems 

It can be frustrating to not fall pregnant, especially when everything feels like it is “normal” with your cycle.

The DUTCH Complete or the DUTCH Cycle Mapping test (which measures the entire cycle) are great for understanding the underlying cause – it could be adrenal issues, low progesterone, not ovulating at the right time

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome

Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) can be tricky to diagnose, there is not one “PCOS test”, even if you have cysts show up on a scan it does not mean that you have PCOS.

The DUTCH test along with measuring insulin, LH, and FSH can help identify PCOS, plus assess your testosterone, 5a-DHT, and adrenal function which are all important to address when treating PCOS.

Monitoring  Hormone Replace Therapy Levels

If you are on HRT the DUTCH test is ideal for making sure that you are on the right amount of hormones and in particular make sure that your body is metabolizing estrogen down the right pathways.

Insomnia

Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? This is an issue for many women, often feeling tired all day but when you go to bed you are “tired but wired” and cannot drift off to sleep.

Or you wake up at 2 am or 3 am, wide awake, and cannot get back to sleep but knowing you have a full day ahead of you. The DUTCH Complete hormone test can help understand “why” and then we can work on a treatment plan to address melatonin, cortisol, and norepinephrine levels.

Fatigue and Exhaustion  

The lack of sleep may cause fatigue, exhaustion, poor daytime functioning.

But if you have adrenal issues or low B12, you can still be sleeping well yet feeling fatigued all day.

Anxiety or Depression 

Depression and mood swings can happen around your menstrual cycle as part of PMS.

Also, if you are feeling anxious or depressed most of the month it could be due to neurotransmitter levels, adrenal issues, low progesterone, or low B vitamins which are important for mood.

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is a time of changing hormones and often a time when women are estrogen dominant which can lead to a wide range of symptoms like heavy periods, weight gain, and headaches.

The DUTCH Complete hormone test will help us understand why so we can address the cause.

Weight Gain 

Estrogen dominance will lead to weight gain. The high testosterone levels in women (which is an issue in PCOS), and high cortisol levels can raise insulin levels leading to weight gain.

Endometriosis

Do you have painful periods where some days of the month are just a write-off? If this is the case you may have endometriosis and the DUTCH test can help understand how estrogen detoxification and methylation of estrogen are working.

How To Order The DUTCH Complete Hormone Test

So you have read about the DUTCH test and would like to take a deep dive into understanding your hormones a lot better, so what is the next step?

For most women, I recommend doing the DUTCH Complete hormone test as it is easy to do. The test is done at home, you simply need to collect 4-5 urine samples on a special litmus paper throughout the day and night.

There is also the option of doing the DUTCH Plus, this measures the sex hormones exactly the same way but it uses urine and saliva to assess the adrenal hormones. It can be more precise measuring the cortisol awakening response, which is how your cortisol levels respond in the morning but for most people, this extra cost is not necessary.

Finally, there is also the option of the DUTCH Cycle Mapping combined with the DUTCH Complete test – this test measures everything in the DUTCH Complete, plus it measures your estrogen and progesterone levels throughout the month.

The DUTCH Cycle Mapping is ideal if you are having fertility issues, have irregular periods, or hormone-related symptoms throughout your cycle.

The DUTCH hormone test is comprehensive and I recommend ordering the test with a consultation, I will explain what the results mean and what diet, lifestyle, and supplements you need to help bring the hormones back into balance.

This is the most important part of the DUTCH test, it is one thing to have the information but you need an action plan to improve your hormones and your health.

$475