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Your cortisol clearance rate (CCR) tells you whether your body is processing cortisol at a healthy pace or whether something metabolic is pushing that pace too fast or too slow. Cortisol is your body's main stress hormone, and it follows a predictable daily rhythm: highest in the morning, lowest at night. But producing the right amount of cortisol is only half the story. Your body also needs to break it down and clear it at a normal rate. If clearance is sluggish, cortisol lingers longer than it should. If clearance is revved up, your adrenal glands may need to produce extra cortisol just to keep circulating levels adequate.
The CCR (cortisol clearance rate) is not a single molecule measured in your blood. It is a ratio calculated from a comprehensive hormone test called the DUTCH Test. On panels that include saliva collection, such as the DUTCH Plus, the CCR compares the amount of cortisol that has already been broken down into waste products in the urine (called metabolized cortisol) with the amount of cortisol still circulating in its free form, as captured in saliva (total salivary cortisol and total salivary cortisone). When those two sides are roughly in balance, clearance is considered normal. When metabolized cortisol is much higher than free cortisol, clearance is fast. When metabolized cortisol is much lower than free cortisol, clearance is slow.
This distinction matters because a standard salivary cortisol test only shows you how much cortisol is circulating at a given moment. It cannot tell you whether that level reflects normal production and normal clearance, or whether it is being shaped by a metabolic problem that is speeding up or slowing down how cortisol leaves your body. The CCR fills that gap by pairing your salivary free cortisol with urinary metabolite data.
Your body has two forms of cortisol in circulation: the active form (cortisol) and the inactive form (cortisone). An enzyme system called 11b-HSD acts as a switch between these two forms. In your liver and fat cells, it converts inactive cortisone back into active cortisol. In your kidneys and salivary glands, it does the opposite, deactivating cortisol into cortisone. This local conversion is why free cortisone shows up alongside free cortisol in your saliva samples.
Both active cortisol and inactive cortisone are eventually broken down for good by a set of enzymes called 5a-reductase and 5b-reductase, along with another enzyme called 3a-HSD. These enzymes convert cortisol into breakdown products called a-THF (alpha-tetrahydrocortisol) and b-THF (beta-tetrahydrocortisol), and convert cortisone into b-THE (beta-tetrahydrocortisone). Once cortisol and cortisone have been converted into these metabolites, they cannot be reactivated. They are excreted in your urine, which is why the numerator of the CCR always comes from urine collection, even on a saliva-inclusive panel like the DUTCH Plus.
The CCR is calculated as the ratio of (THF + THE) divided by (total salivary cortisol + total salivary cortisone) on DUTCH Plus and DUTCH CAR panels. A higher ratio means more cortisol has been broken down relative to what remains in circulation, which signals faster clearance. A lower ratio means less cortisol has been broken down, signaling slower clearance.
On the DUTCH Plus panel, the free cortisol in the denominator of the CCR comes from saliva rather than urine. This has a few practical advantages. Salivary cortisol reflects what is happening in your bloodstream at the moment the sample is collected, while urinary cortisol reflects accumulated levels over the hours before collection. The DUTCH Plus collects five salivary time points rather than four urinary ones, capturing an additional data point that includes the cortisol awakening response.
There is also a clinical scenario where saliva gives you a more reliable picture. Elevated kidney filtration rate (GFR) can lead to falsely low free cortisol in the urine, but it does not affect salivary measurements. If you have kidney disease, urine-based DUTCH results may be inaccurate, but salivary samples from a DUTCH Plus or DUTCH CAR panel remain valid. This means the saliva-based CCR denominator may be more trustworthy if your kidney function is compromised.
One additional nuance: studies have found that salivary cortisone correlates with serum (blood) free cortisol better than salivary cortisol itself does. Because the DUTCH test includes both salivary cortisol and salivary cortisone in its panels, you get a more complete picture of what is circulating. When the two salivary patterns match (both high, both low, or both normal), cortisone confirms the cortisol reading. When they diverge, cortisone can reveal what cortisol alone might miss.
The DUTCH Test reports your CCR as a population percentile. If your result is at the 50th percentile, half of the reference population clears cortisol faster than you and half clears it slower. The normal range spans from the 20th to the 80th percentile. Results below the 20th percentile suggest slow clearance. Results above the 80th percentile suggest fast clearance.
Your thyroid function, body composition, blood sugar regulation, and liver health all influence how quickly these enzymes work. Because of this, the CCR is best interpreted alongside thyroid labs and metabolic markers, not in isolation.
| CCR Pattern | What It Looks Like on Your Report | What It May Reflect |
|---|---|---|
| Slow clearance (below 20th percentile) | Metabolized cortisol is lower than salivary free cortisol | Conditions that lower metabolic rate: underactive thyroid (or insufficient thyroid medication), very low calorie intake, low bile acid production, or reduced liver and mitochondrial function |
| Fast clearance (above 80th percentile) | Metabolized cortisol is higher than salivary free cortisol | Conditions that raise metabolic rate: obesity, inflammation, blood sugar and insulin problems, overactive thyroid (or excessive thyroid medication), or long-term stress |
| Normal clearance (20th to 80th percentile) | Metabolized cortisol roughly matches salivary free cortisol | Cortisol clearance is appropriate for your clinical situation, though it does not rule out underlying conditions |
What this means for you: if your CCR is outside the 20th to 80th percentile range, it suggests a metabolic factor is influencing your stress hormone system. The direction of the shift, fast or slow, points toward different root causes and different next steps.
One important nuance: when metabolized cortisol is high but salivary free cortisol and cortisone are low, cortisol levels may differ depending on where you look in the body. Cortisol could be elevated in the adrenal glands, potentially driving increased conversion of noradrenaline to adrenaline, while simultaneously being low in the brain, which could trigger more cortisol-stimulating signals from the pituitary. In this scenario, simply trying to boost overall cortisol output could make some symptoms worse.
Because the CCR reflects the speed of enzyme-driven cortisol breakdown, the factors that move it tend to be metabolic and systemic rather than targeted supplements. That said, several categories of intervention can shift your clearance rate in a meaningful direction.
Thyroid optimization: Thyroid hormones are among the strongest regulators of cortisol clearance. An underactive thyroid slows the enzymes that break cortisol down, producing a low CCR. With hypothyroidism, the metabolized cortisol dial tends to point lower than the total salivary cortisol and cortisone dials. An overactive thyroid speeds the enzymes up, producing a high CCR. With hyperthyroidism, the metabolized cortisol dial tends to point relatively higher than the total salivary cortisol and cortisone dials. If your CCR is abnormal, a full thyroid panel (typically TSH, free T4, free T3, reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies) is a reasonable next step.
Weight management and insulin regulation: Obesity is associated with fast cortisol clearance. Fat tissue sequesters cortisol, which in turn may stimulate the adrenal glands to produce more of it, raising metabolized cortisol levels. Blood sugar and insulin dysregulation independently speed up cortisol metabolism as well. Weight loss, when appropriate, and strategies to improve insulin sensitivity (such as blood sugar balancing with inositol, berberine, or chromium) may help normalize a fast CCR.
Caloric sufficiency: Very low calorie intake, as seen in anorexia or severe caloric restriction, is associated with slow cortisol clearance. Ensuring adequate caloric intake supports the metabolic machinery that processes cortisol.
Liver and mitochondrial support: The liver is the primary site where cortisol is broken down. Poor liver function and reduced mitochondrial activity are both associated with slow clearance. Supportive strategies may include B vitamins, NAC, alpha-lipoic acid, CoQ10, milk thistle, and dandelion, among others.
Inflammation reduction: Chronic inflammation is associated with fast cortisol clearance and a shift toward active cortisol metabolites (THF). Anti-inflammatory strategies, including turmeric, resveratrol, fish oil, EGCG, stress reduction, moderate exercise, and an anti-inflammatory diet, may help bring an elevated CCR back toward the normal range.
Stress management: Long-term stress is listed among the root causes of fast cortisol clearance. Supporting the parasympathetic nervous system through meditation, breath work, vagal nerve stimulation (humming, singing, gargling), calming herbs (passionflower, valerian, lemon balm, chamomile), and GABA support may be relevant if your CCR is elevated.
5a-reductase inhibitors: Medications like finasteride and dutasteride inhibit the 5a-reductase enzyme, which is one of the enzymes responsible for converting cortisol into its breakdown products. These medications may lower the alpha metabolite a-THF and could therefore shift the CCR. If you are taking a 5a-reductase inhibitor, mention this when interpreting your results.
Substances that shift the cortisol/cortisone balance: Several factors affect the 11b-HSD enzyme system that toggles between active cortisol and inactive cortisone. Insulin resistance, obesity, inflammation, hypothyroidism, licorice root, phthalates, and certain environmental chemicals may push the balance toward active cortisol. EGCG, curcumin, progesterone, coffee, holy basil, hyperthyroidism, and high estrogen levels may push it toward inactive cortisone. These shifts influence the salivary free cortisol and cortisone values that form the denominator of your CCR, so they are worth considering when interpreting your result.