Ep. 50 Beyond the Blood Draw: Why the DUTCH Test is a Game-Changer for Women’s Hormone Health

🧬 Episode Summary:

If you’ve been told “everything looks normal” but you feel anything but—this episode is for you.

In this deep-dive, Tracy Aaron breaks down the DUTCH Test (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) and explains why it’s the gold standard for women 35+ who are ready to stop guessing and start getting real answers. You’ll learn how this powerful at-home test reveals what blood tests miss—like hormone metabolism, cortisol rhythms, thyroid clues, and even cancer risk patterns.

We cover:

• The science behind hormone metabolites
• Why recirculating estrogen is sabotaging your balance
• Real-life client stories (like Sarah, who likely dodged a cancer scare!)
• And how the DUTCH test fits into Tracy’s Balanced Hormone Solution framework

This is the hormone education your OB-GYN never gave you—but should have.

For more info:

email me: hello@tracyerinwellness.com

Instagram: @tracyerinwellness

Transcript

Speaker: 0:09

Welcome to the Balance Hormone Solution Podcast. If you're a woman 35 plus feeling exhausted, struggling to lose weight, and wondering where your libido went, this is for you. I am Tracy Aaron, a functional medicine practitioner who helps women balance their hormones naturally. Without prescriptions, guesswork, or trending Nonsense.'cause here's the truth, your symptoms aren't random. They're signals. And if you know how to listen, you can fix the root cause and start feeling like yourself again. If you're ready for real solutions, let's get to it.

0:51

Welcome back to the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast, where we are decoding the messages your body sends, and my goal is to empower you with actionable insights. I'm Tracy Aaron, your guide on this journey to hormonal. Harmony. So today we're diving deep into a topic that's revolutionizing the way we understand women's hormones, and that is the Dutch test. If you've ever been told your blood tests are normal despite feeling anything, but then this episode is for you, so here's why. Traditional blood tests measure hormone levels at a single point in time, often missing the dynamic fluctuations that can occur throughout the day. Moreover, they primarily assess total hormone levels, not accounting for how your body metabolizes or uses. These hormones. For example, blood tests might show adequate estrogen levels, but they don't reveal how your body is processing that estrogen. So is it being converted into protective metabolites or ones that could potentially increase your cancer risks? Blood tests cannot tell us that. So what is the Dutch test? This is the test that I use in my practice in the balanced hormone solution. And generally what I find is when women get their results, they look at themselves and say, one, I am not crazy. This test completely validates how I feel. And two, how come nobody's told me this before? It really is so powerful. So Dutch stands for dried urine test for comprehensive. Hormones. It's an at-home test, which is really convenient. I send you the kit in the mail and it involves just collecting your urine samples at four specific times over a 24 hour period. So the test is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of your hormone levels, but not just that, how your body metabolizes them, as well as how your body detoxes or get rid, gets rid of hormones after they've been created and used by the body. Now, if you've been with me for a while, you'll understand this concept of estrogen dominance. And what happens in a lot of women is we might be making a normal amount of estrogen and we are metabolizing a normal amount of estrogen. But if we are recirculating estrogen after we've used it, we create a. Whole host of hormonal symptoms and problems, and this test helps to see that on paper because it's not just about the amount that you're making or how much you're using. We also have to understand how our body is getting rid. Of these hormones, we don't want them recirculating after they have been expended. So unlike blood tests, the Dutch test is gonna measure those hormone metabolites, right? Understanding how hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, break down in the body. We also can see diurnal cortisol patterns, so we can assess adrenal function by tracking cortisol levels throughout the day. You take those four samples. It also gives us insight into melatonin levels. So we see sleep patterns and how our circadian rhythm is working or not working. Also, as an added bonus, the Dutch test includes a mini organic acid panel tagged onto the rest. Uh, so the last page of the hormones, and it gives us a little bit. Of a view inside gut function, so we can kind of see like, are we making enough neurotransmitters? How is our gut health? Are we low in things like B vitamins? Are we having, um, reactive oxygen species? A little bit like. Elevated in the gut and it helps us to see whether or not we need to go further into gut stool testing from there. I really appreciate that last page on that test. It's very helpful, but it's not just this, we can get a window into thyroid function. We can see whether or not we are making enough cortisol versus metabolizing enough cortisol. I can't tell you how many times I see that. Like we have really high cortisol on the test, right? And we see that we're making a whole lot, but we're hardly metabolizing any. That gives me a clue that there's likely a hypofunction in the thyroid. So yes, the I test for thyroid too. I love thyroid panel. I love a complete thyroid panel. Really gives us great insight. This test also gives us insight into how the thyroid is performing, which is just fantastic. So let me share a couple of client experiences that highlight the Dutch test transformative potential in your life. So first, Sarah. Despite experiencing severe PMS and mood swings, her blood tests came back normal every single time. But when she started working with me and she joined the balance hormone solution, the Dutch test revealed that her estrogen was being metabolized into a form that is associated with an increased cancer risk. This is preventative medicine at its finest. I love this aspect of the test. So with targeted interventions, I'm talking nutrition, uh, supplement lifestyle, we were able to shift her metabolism of estrogen towards a safer pathway, alleviating her symptoms. Not only this, but she did pre and post thermography. We began to see patterns of inflammation in her body, which was confirmed on the Dutch test. Once we intervened in these targeted ways that I'm describing, she had zero inflammation happening around her breasts, around her ovaries and uterus after these interventions. So I hate to think about it, but what if she just prevented a massive cancer diagnosis, which really would have transformed her entire life, right? You never really know. But I love this part of the test because it gives us insight into cancer prevention specifically. But also, how about Anna? Like Anna suffered from chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, the type where you wake up and you feel like you slept all night, but you're still exhausted. So she went to her doctor like most women do, and traditional tests did not provide any answers. When she started working with me, I ran the Dutch test on her and it uncovered this flattened cortisol curve, which indicated adrenal dysfunction. Or I don't know why her doctors missed that, but through lifestyle modifications, supplementation, her energy levels and sleep quality improved significantly. Imagine being able to sleep all night and wake up feeling ready to tackle your day as opposed to feeling exhausted. All the time. The Dutch test really is so powerful. So, um, there's so many stories. I mean, I can, I can think of Jill who had, um, you know, impaired thyroid. Function and metabolism. So we didn't know that until we saw the Dutch test, and then we ran a complete thyroid panel and confirmed that. So we really get so many insights into the rest of the body. But in terms of like Dutch test versus blood tests, you know, like a comparative overview, let's talk about that. Let's talk about the differences there. So both tests, both blood and Dutch tests are going to measure hormone levels. They're going to, that's great. Now. As far as assessing hormone metabolites, the blood test does not do that, but the Dutch test does. How about tracking diurnal cortisol? Blood test does not do that, but the Dutch test does. What about an at-home collection? How easy is it to test your hormones straight from your own bathroom? Right. Blood test? You cannot do that. You need to travel somewhere, and if you're somebody who does not appreciate being stuck with needles, then Dutch test is for you because it is an at home collection. How about providing insight into detox pathways? No way is a blood test going to reveal this for you, but the Dutch test does. There's just so many benefits for running this, particularly for hormones. So how do you know? How do you know if the Dutch test is right for you? So the Dutch test can be particularly beneficial if you experience symptoms of hormonal balance, like despite normal blood tests, right? That's obvious. You've been told everything's normal, you know that everything is not normal. You wanna dig a little bit further. Or if you have conditions like PCOS. Or endometriosis or unexplained infertility. The Dutch test can give you a huge window into that. Or if you suffer from chronic stress or fatigue or sleep issues, or simply if you want a comprehensive view of your hormonal health. To guide personalized interventions, right? So in the balanced hormone solution, everybody is on a 90 day whole body detox. We move through three different phases. First, we're addressing gut and liver health because we cannot build. Metabolize or detox hormones if we have poor gut and liver health. Then after that, we move over into the neurocognitive immune system where we're really starting to optimize how we make neurotransmitters. So many women in perimenopause end up feeling this flat affect this kind of not even a low mood. But almost no mood. It's hard to get excited. It's hard to feel joyful about things that used to excite you before, or you can just get irritated very quickly or just not feel anything. So we really need to optimize neurotransmitters through the immune system and the neurocognitive system.

Speaker 5: 10:55

Perimenopause got you. Feeling like a hormonal hostage. Your period's unpredictable. Your sleep's trash, your mood's, a mind feel, and no one prepared you for this. Enter the Balanced hormone solution. My 90 day program for women, 35 plus who are done guessing and ready to feel like themselves again.'cause we test not guess. We detox, rebalance, and get your hormones and your life back in check.'cause you're not broken, you're just burned out. So let's fix that. Head to tracy erin wellness.com and let's get started.

11:30

Our third phase really focuses on the whole endocrine system, optimizing from the brain all the way down to your sex hormones and the entire feedback loops that require optimization in order to function properly. So everybody is going through those three phases, however, and when you're in the balance hormone solution and I get your Dutch test back, we specialize and optimize exactly what you need. From those results. So, you know, sometimes people think, oh, it's a group program. I need specialized attention. And yes, it's true, which is why the balanced hormone solution provides both. We do things together as a group, which everybody needs help with, and then we specialize. Specifically for you and your needs. So in my opinion, it truly is the best of both. You get group experience, you also get a ton of personalized attention and personalized interventions. So understanding your hormones is more than just knowing their levels. If I have anything I want you to take away from today, it's primarily that the amount of hormone in your bloodstream is only one fraction of the entire puzzle. So what it is, it's about comprehending how your body processes and responds to these hormones. Right. It's a much bigger picture. So the Dutch test offers a window into these intricate processes, these feedback loops enabling, targeted and effective strategies for overall hormonal balance. So if you're ready to move beyond the limitations of these traditional blood tests and you want to gain deeper insights into your hormonal health, consider exploring the Dutch test. As always, you can consult with a qualified healthcare provider to determine the best approach for your individual needs. At this point, you really cannot order the Dutch test on your own, so you do need to go through somebody who's certified and has an account with them. Like me. So with Nikki for joining me today on this episode of The Balanced Hormone Solution. I hope it was beneficial to you. I would love if you would like or subscribe, leave a review that really helps this podcast Reach more women who feel like they just simply don't feel like themselves, stranger in their own body, need help decoding the messages and getting back on their two feet, living their best life. So until next time, listen to your body's whispers before they become screams.

Speaker 3: 14:19

That's it for today's episode of the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast. If this resonated, don't just listen. Do something about it. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know another woman who's tired of feeling like a stranger in her own body. Send her this way for more support. Check out the show notes. I've got resources to help you get started. Just remember, your body isn't broken, you just need the right tools. See you next time.