Why can our bodies split double carbon bonds in unsaturated fats easier than…?
It’s to do with the shape of the molecules… Saturated fat molecules, with single carbon bonds, are mostly a straight line, so the saturated fat can pile up into stacks with all the molecules lined up parallel to each other. But in a double bond, the two carbons are on the same side of the bond, which creates a “kink” in the carbon chain. Because of this bendy shape, unsaturated fats can’t stack up like saturated ones can. If all of the carbons are bound by two hydrogens (3 on the tip), it is considered to be saturated. Saturated = completely filled. If there is at least 1 double bond between two carbons, the shape of the chain changes, and since there are now two carbons not bonded to two hydrogens, it is no longetr saturated w/ hydrogens– it is unsaturated.
