What You Need to Know About HRT, Your Hormones, and How They Detox

What the DUTCH Test Measures

The DUTCH (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) evaluates:

• Sex hormones: estrogen (E1, E2, E3), progesterone metabolites, testosterone, DHEA.
• Estrogen metabolism: 2-OH, 4-OH, 16-OH pathways + methylation capacity (how safely estrogen is neutralized and eliminated).
• Adrenal function: free cortisol, metabolized cortisol, diurnal cortisol rhythm, cortisone.
  • Are you exhausted? Wired/Tired? Can’t sleep? Have zero energy during the day? Gaining weight?
  • THESE markers are what you don’t get on just an AM cortisol - you may have ZERO cortisol, but can’t clear it. Or you may have tons of cortisol, but can’t feel it!
• Organic acid markers: B-vitamin status, neurotransmitter metabolites, oxidative stress indicators.
• Androgen metabolism: DHT and how aggressively the body converts testosterone.
  • I.E. If you have PCOS, hormonal acne, hair loss issues, etc. THIS is the stuff you need to know and often, DHT in blood testing is not accurate of what you experience at your hair/follicle level!

These markers collectively show not just hormone levels, but hormone behavior — how they’re produced, broken down, and cleared.

Why It’s Valuable for Women

The DUTCH test gives a deep look into how a woman’s hormonal system is functioning in real time. It answers questions blood work alone can’t—such as how estrogen is being metabolized, why progesterone feels low, or what is driving fatigue or sleep issues.

It helps women understand:

• Whether symptoms are coming from hormone levels, metabolism, or adrenal stress. Often your hormone symptoms aren’t a dosing issue, they’re a ‘how you’re breaking them down and clearing them issue.’
• How stress, inflammation, nutrition, and genetics are impacting hormone balance.
• Whether detox pathways (especially methylation) are supporting healthy estrogen clearance.
• If high-androgen symptoms (hair loss, acne) are driven by DHT conversion or adrenal patterns