How many types of steroids are there?
There are at least five, most of which do not concern us.
This is because the technical medical definition of a steroid has to do with the structure of a particular molecule common to these substances.
When most people think of steroids, the first thought that comes to mind is Barry Bonds or other famous athletes caught cheating in sports with performance-enhancing drugs.
But the broadest definition of concerns a chemical ring structure that is shared by certain substances produced by the body.
There are five different types of hormones produced by the adrenal glands that fit the broadest definition of steroid. They are:
Sex hormones: These are hormones generally attributed to the production of male and female divergent sexual characteristics.
Corticosteroids: These hormones are thought to play a role in the auto immune system and are involved in ways the body responds to stress.
Mineralocorticoids: These hormones exist to maintain the balance of potassium and sodium in the body. They include aldosterone.
Bile salts or bile acid: the liver manufactures these steroids. They do not perform the same role as hormones, but they are needed for digestion and for the absorption of fatty materials
Sterols: The most well known sterol is cholesterol. Other kinds of sterols aid the body in the production of vitamin D and for the construction of cell walls.
