How understanding your hormones can transform your health

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This simple powerful test will give you precise insight into exactly how your hormones are functioning. 

The hormones are critical to healthy function, and it is very hard for us to know exactly which hormones might be out of balance and why. 

Our hormone regulation can affect the following:

• Sleep and mood
• Brain fog
• Mental clarity
• Stress
• Gut health
• Energy levels
• Sexual functioning

This wonderful test – and the consultation support from Amchara’s team – will help you get to the root of your hormone health. 

This test can either be done in the comfort of your own home, or perhaps even more conveniently, whilst you are in residence on your Amchara retreat. 

Hormones are your body’s messengers. If they’re out of sync – too high, too low, or fluctuating unpredictably  – this can present with various symptoms. You might notice energy dips, disrupted sleep, mood changes, irregular periods, hot flushes, or difficulty losing weight.

At Amchara, we look at why these changes are happening rather than simply treating the symptoms. Our favourite test we use on retreat is the urine hormone panel. It offers a detailed view of hormone activity over time, showing both the amount of hormones your body makes, as well as how efficiently your body is processing them, and breaking them down.

We always take an evidence-based approach, and aim to provide you with actionable tips and useful knowledge to help you on your journey to optimal health.

Let’s take a look at what the urine hormone panel measures, how it works, and how it can support a more personalised, holistic approach to, and understanding of, your overall health.

Traditional urine hormone tests usually measure only the parent hormone levels. A parent hormone means primary hormones in the body that can be converted into other active hormones – an example would be progesterone which can act as a parent hormone for cortisol, and sex hormones such as oestrogen and testosterone.

More comprehensive urine hormone panels look at the parent hormone and its metabolites (the substance produced when the parent hormone is broken down or converted). This results in a more detailed understanding of hormone metabolism patterns, showing how your body is making, using, processing and clearing hormones.

Small urine samples are collected at different times of day – they can be taken at home and posted to the lab.

This approach allows a picture to be built as to how hormone levels change throughout the day, which cannot be achieved by a single blood test taken at one point in time.

Hormone testing is often discussed in the context of menstrual cycles or menopause, but urine hormone panels can also be valuable for men. They can highlight imbalances in testosterone, DHEA, cortisol, and oestrogen metabolism that may contribute to low energy, mood changes, reduced muscle mass, weight gain, or changes in libido.

By mapping how hormones are produced and cleared, practitioners can uncover underlying factors such as chronic stress, inflammation, or sleep disruption – helping men take a more personalised, functional approach to restoring vitality and long-term hormonal health.

At Amchara, we don’t test for the sake of testing. We use information like this when it helps explain why you feel the way you do and how to bring your body back into balance.

For example:

• Perimenopause and menopause: Understanding oestrogen and progesterone metabolism can guide nutrition, lifestyle, and shared decisions about HRT.
• Stress, sleep, and energy: Identifying flattened or reversed cortisol rhythms helps tailor daily habits — such as exposure to natural light, meal timing, and stress reduction practices.
• Hormone-related skin or mood symptoms: Knowing your body’s metabolism pathways can help refine supplement choices and lifestyle interventions.

This test isn’t a diagnosis, but it can be a valuable map for more personalised decisions.

Scientific studies show that the method used in the urine hormone panel closely matches results from liquid urine or saliva testing for most hormones. It’s been validated as a reliable way to measure daily hormone patterns and cortisol rhythms.

It’s not recommended for people with kidney disease, extreme dehydration, or individuals on certain hormone medications unless advised by their practitioner. Timing and preparation are also key – it’s most accurate when collected at the right phase of your cycle and after following instructions carefully.

At Amchara, we combine test results with a deeper, holistic look at your whole lifestyle, including nutrition, gut health, sleep, and stress.

If a urine hormone panel may be beneficial for your individual circumstances, Karen, our co-founder, and the team will use it to guide practical, evidence-based changes that help your hormones, and all your bodily systems, find balance again.

“I recommend the urine hormone panel known as the DUTCH test. It’s especially good because it captures not just how much hormone you’re making, but how your body metabolises those hormones throughout the day — giving us deeper insight into your unique hormonal rhythm and guiding truly personalised health support.”

— Karen Boyle, Co-Founder, Amchara Health Retreats

If you would like to find out more about how a urine hormone panel could benefit you, click here.

At Amchara, we can offer you a urine hormone panel test – available at home or on retreat.

The cost is £900, including your initial consultation, testing, and two follow up consultations with your Amchara Personalised Health practitioner over two months.

If you would like support on your journey to optimise your health, our retreats are designed to help you detoxify both physically and mentally.

On an Amchara health retreat you will be immersed in a supportive and nurturing environment that enables you to switch off, relax and kickstart your health journey.

Tailored advice from our Personalised Health practitioners will take into account your individual health circumstances and goals, and our physical activities and educational talks can empower you to ‘Change for Good’.