And how are those differences relevant to our nutrition and diet?
Saturation when it comes to fats refers to how fully saturated with hydrogen atoms a particular fat molecule is. The more hydrogen atoms a fat molecule is missing from being fully saturated with hydrogen, the more double bonds there are within the fat molecule.
These double bonds introduce kinks that change the shape of a “fully saturated” fat molecule from mostly straight to one that has a bend in it.
Saturated fats are generally straight in shape because they have no double bonds within their hydrogen-carbon structure and thus no bends.
I’ve not heard of the term monosaturated or polysaturated or transaturated myself. I think you mean to say monoUNsaturated polyUNsaturated. Monounsaturated fat means a fat that has one double bond so one bend in its hydrogen-carbon structure. Polyunsaturated fat is a fat that has multiple double bonds and thus multiple bends in its hydrogen-carbon structure.
Trans-saturated fats are made by taking unsaturated fats (mono or polyunsaturated) and bombarding it with hydrogen atoms along with a catalyst to remove the double bonds in the hydrogen-carbon structure and turn the mono/polyunsaturated fat into a saturated fat.
The issue with adding hydrogen atoms this way is it fucks with configuration of the hydrogen-carbon structure turning it into a “trans” configuration that our bodies really do not react well to.
Most of our cell walls are made from mono/polyunsaturated fats so those are more useful to our bodies and taking those are generally better for us than saturated fats are. Trans fats don’t often occur naturally so our bodies don’t really know what to do with them and kind of throw a tantrum when it sees one.
TLDR; Saturated fats are straight in shape, mono/polyunsaturated fats have one/multiple bends. Our bodies need more mono/polyunsaturated fats compared to saturated fats. Trans-saturated fats are artificially created saturated fats made from mono/polyunsaturated fats and are the devil
Alton Brown did an amazingly easy to understand reference for this.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fat/art-20045550
Here is a link based more on nutrition
The short version is that saturated fats generally have a negative effect on cholesterol, and the recommendation is to limit your intake. They’re popular because they’re found in many animal products, and have useful properties (such as often being solid at room temperature, like butter)
Then unsaturated fats are pretty much the opposite, whether poly or mono unsaturated. They have a generally positive effect on health. Use these when possible.
Most sources of fats are a blend of the different types, so don’t worry excessive about it.
Oh and then trans fats are the worst for you by far and are banned from sale in many places, although you can actually create them in your own kitchen I believe via some methods of deep frying
The first four letters.
