GLOSSARY

Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) is an antidiuretic signal made in hypothalamus and released from posterior pituitary.

Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone, vasopressin and natriuretic peptides regulate volume, sodium and water through distinct actions. Vasopressin prominently regulates water excretion, while aldosterone affects sodium and potassium handling. Sweating, fluid intake and environment alter these signals. Their activation alone cannot specify an exact drinking or salt prescription; actual balance and individual conditions matter, and hormonal water retention should not be mistaken for proof that excessive drinking is harmless.

Hormones are chemical signals whose effects depend on target cells and appropriate receptors. Endocrine generally describes communication through blood, while local and neural signals also contribute. One substance can have several roles and sources. Calling something a metabolic or appetite hormone does not imply an exclusive effect; interpretation requires the signaling network, food and activity rather than assigning the body's response to one molecule alone.

Synthesis, storage, secretion, transport and clearance are distinct processes. Blood concentration reflects entry and removal rather than directly measuring secretion; exercise-related plasma-volume changes can also affect it. Half-life depends on hormone form and method and is not identical to the duration of all effects. Comparisons therefore need sampling time, previous food and recent activity standardized or recorded rather than interpreting isolated concentration differences without context.

Hormonal axes use feedback and often pulsatile and time-dependent patterns. A rise can be compensatory and a decline temporarily adaptive, neither diagnosing disease without context. Hormone ratios depend on numerator, denominator, timing and units. Sports nutrition does not aim to maximize every hormone; the practical goal is adequate supply and appropriate physiological responses, evaluated with health and performance rather than an isolated ratio or peak.

For practical use, record meal and training timing, sleep and hunger alongside actual intake and performance trends. When a marker changes, first examine measurement conditions and plausible explanations; food decisions should support adequate supply, tolerance and recovery rather than ending the assessment at one molecular signal or assuming a concentration change automatically establishes a useful intervention.

Exercise mode, intensity, duration, recruited muscle, training history and prior food influence hormonal responses. Acute changes differ from baseline adaptations after training. Higher concentration does not necessarily mean greater secretion or tissue effect, because clearance, plasma volume and receptors also matter. Performance develops through combined adaptations, so targeting a hormone peak is not sufficient for session design or supplement selection; actual recovery and performance must remain part of evaluation.

Hormonal imbalance is a broad description rather than a standalone diagnosis from an online symptom list. Deficiency, excess and resistance differ, and reference ranges depend on method, age and conditions. Medicines, illness, sleep and energy status also matter. Persistent symptoms need appropriate assessment to identify causes; choosing supplements or manipulating hormones from one isolated test cannot replace evidence-based evaluation or establish a universal athletic hormone target.