A single blood test shows your hormones at one moment on one day. But hormones rise and fall through the day and the month, and how your body breaks them down matters just as much as how much you make.

The DUTCH test (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) gives a much fuller picture. From a few simple urine samples collected at home, it shows your sex hormones and how you clear them, your cortisol rhythm across the whole day, and markers linked to key nutrients.

It is one of the tests I rely on most for hormone, fertility, fatigue and sleep cases, because it so often explains symptoms that standard tests miss.

• Preparing to conceive, or struggling to conceive naturally
• PMS, PMDD, heavy, painful or irregular periods
• PCOS, endometriosis or suspected oestrogen dominance
• Perimenopause and menopause symptoms
• Fatigue, burnout or feeling wired but tired
• Poor sleep or waking in the night
• Low libido, hormonal acne or hair changes
• Men with low energy, low libido or fertility concerns

• Oestrogens and how you clear them. Oestrone, oestradiol and oestriol, plus the protective and less favourable pathways your body uses to break them down.
• Progesterone. A key marker for ovulation, your luteal phase and fertility.
• Androgens. Testosterone, DHEA and DHT, and which way your body converts them.
• Your daily cortisol rhythm. Free cortisol at four points through the day, plus how much cortisol you make overall.
• Melatonin, for sleep.
• Organic acids linked to B12, B6 and glutathione status.
• Neurotransmitter markers for dopamine and adrenaline activity.
• Oxidative stress, a marker of cellular wear and tear.

Depending on your situation, I may recommend DUTCH Plus, which adds your cortisol awakening response, or Cycle Mapping, which tracks oestrogen and progesterone across your whole cycle.

1. Book a strategy call so we can check DUTCH is the right test and plan the best timing in your cycle.
2. Your kit arrives at home. You collect a few dried urine samples on filter strips over a day or two.
3. Post them to the lab. Results are usually ready within 5 to 10 days of the lab receiving them.
4. I interpret your results alongside your symptoms, history and any blood or DNA results.
5. We meet online to go through everything, and you leave with a clear, personalised plan.

For couples preparing to conceive, I usually pair DUTCH with comprehensive blood hormone testing and DNA hormone and methylation testing. Read more on my fertility page.