11/19/2025
On the Dutch test, cortisol clearance tells us how quickly your body is breaking down and eliminating cortisol.
Your body is always making cortisol, using it, and clearing it.
When cortisol clearance is low, your body is not clearing cortisol efficiently.
How this may show up:
• Free cortisol may look high, normal, or even low
• Metabolized cortisol is low because you’re not clearing/breaking it down well
• Cortisol clearance looks at the relationship between these two.
Why Low Clearance Matters ->
Low cortisol clearance puts your body into a “slow breakdown” mode, which can lead to:
➡️ Higher circulating cortisol
Because you are not clearing it, cortisol can hang around longer ->
• feeling wired, edgy, anxious
• “tired but wired” at night
➡️ Weight changes
Higher active cortisol for longer periods can affect ->
• belly fat storage
• water retention
• blood sugar stability
➡️ Low energy
Ironically, even if cortisol is high, low clearance can still create ->
• fatigue
• morning sluggishness
• afternoon crashes
(Because the body isn’t metabolizing it properly)
➡️ Inflammation + slow recovery
The body may be stuck in a stress state longer, slowing ->
• repair
• detox
• immune resilience
If you are feeling any of these symptoms ->
• wired but tired
• difficulty relaxing
• belly weight gain
• higher stress reactivity
• brain fog
• trouble sleeping (especially staying asleep)
• slow recovery
You may have a slow cortisol clearance rate.
It’s simply a pattern showing us that your thyroid, liver, inflammation, and stress load need more support, so your body can process cortisol the way it’s meant to.
If you are tired of guessing why you feel the way you do… let’s dig into it!
Comment DUTCH for more info.
💛 Sherri
