Understanding what your hormones are doing is highly useful information. The challenge lies in accurately measuring your hormone levels and interpreting the test results.

Mark Newman, founder of Precision Analytical Laboratory in Oregon, is also the developer of the DUTCH Test, which stands for Dried Urine test for Comprehensive Hormones.

"I've had a really narrow focus my whole career, in that of hormone testing," Mark says. "I've built and directed 24-hour urine testing, then some blood testing, and a whole lot of saliva testing, and over the years looked at the pros and cons of the three main tests."

The DUTCH test, which uses dried urine, is innovative in a number of respects, and offers several benefits over older hormone tests — all of which have their drawbacks and limitations.

For example, a conventional (liquid sample) urine test gives you metabolites you simply can't get in a blood or saliva test, but the collection method can be quite messy and inconvenient.

The DUTCH test has been commercially available for about four years, and I believe it's the simplest, most elegant and informative go-to test for anyone considering bioidentical hormone therapy