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In this episode, Dr. Jaclyn Smeaton sits down with Dr. Bryant Esquejo, ND to unpack acne through a functional medicine lens, moving far beyond the surface to explore what’s really happening inside the body.

Dr. Esquejo and Dr. Smeaton also discuss:

• Acne as not just a skin condition, but a reflection of imbalances involving hormones, blood sugar, inflammation, and the gut microbiome
• The science behind acne development, from bacterial activity and oil production to deeper drivers like insulin resistance, androgen metabolism, and chronic inflammation
• The influence of diet, stress, sleep, and gut health
• How advanced testing, like hormone metabolite analysis, can reveal hidden imbalances in the body
• Treating acne as an opportunity to better understand and optimize whole-body health

Learn more about Dr. Esquejo and follow him on Instagram @dr.bryant!

Check out Dr. Esquejo’s blog post on blood sugar, insulin, and acne, and read our whitepaper on 5a-Androstanediol as a marker of androgen status in women.

Become a DUTCH Provider to get access to free educational resources, expert clinical support, comprehensive patient reports, and peer-reviewed and validated research.

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In this episode, Dr. Jaclyn Smeaton and DUTCH Founder Mark Newman discuss a case study published in Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal in which Mark himself was the patient. The case covers the step-by-step hormonal and metabolic effects of using HCG to boost endogenous testosterone, revealing how increasing testosterone can cascade into elevated estrogen, impaired estrogen clearance, and strained methylation capacity.

Their conversation also highlights:

• The benefits of combining serum testing and DUTCH testing to monitor dosing as well as metabolism, clearance, and methylation
• How methylation is affected by raising testosterone
• The value of tracking step-by-step supplementation plans with repeated testing
• The importance of baseline testing before beginning testosterone therapy
• An upcoming research publication that compares hormone testing methods for testosterone monitoring

Read the DUTCH article and access the full IMCJ case report.

Become a DUTCH Provider to see how the DUTCH Test can profoundly change the lives of your patients.

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Join Dr. Allison Smith and Dr. Jaclyn Smeaton for this episode as they share expert insights into how hormones, the HPA axis, and lifestyle factors influence immune health, injury risk, sleep, and overall well-being during perimenopause and menopause.

Dr. Smeaton and Dr. Smith also discuss:

• The relationship between hormonal changes, stress, and inflammation
• How cortisol and estrogen can impact sleep quality and inflammation in perimenopausal women
• Patterns seen on DUTCH tests indicating inflammation, immune overactivation, or hormone resistance
• Inflammation markers like quinolinate and melatonin and how they can help assess immune health
• How hormonal fluctuations alter immune responses, leading to symptoms like itchy ears, joint pain, and autoimmunity

Show Notes

Check out our DUTCH Education Hub for more resources on perimenopause, menopause, stress, and inflammation!

Become a DUTCH Provider today to learn how the DUTCH Test can profoundly change the lives of your patients.