GLOSSARY

Cortisol-to-Cortisone Ratio is a sample-dependent ratio concerning conversion and availability.

Cortisol supports fuel regulation, stress responses and other functions rather than simply destroying muscle. Secretion has rhythms and pulses; awakening, clock time, illness and exercise affect measurement. A temporary exercise rise is not equivalent to chronic hypercortisolism. The testosterone-to-cortisol ratio is not a standalone overtraining diagnosis either; symptoms, performance trends and standardized sampling conditions must accompany it rather than treating a transient value as proof of harmful catabolism.

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.

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.

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.

Circadian rhythms relate to biological clocks, while observed daily patterns also reflect sleep, food and activity. Sleep loss can alter appetite and food choice, but ghrelin and leptin do not change in the same direction in every study. Meal timing should fit training and intake needs. One timing experiment is not a universal rule to omit dinner or fast every athlete; total intake, schedule and individual tolerance still matter.

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.