Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of nutrition. They provide essential vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, amino acids and disease-fighting phytosterols. Sprouted sunflower seeds are even more beneficial. The nutritional value of sprouted sunflower seeds outshines that of regular sunflower seeds because the sprouted seeds are from a plant "in their prime," says Steve Meyerowitz, known as "The Sproutsman," who is quoted on the Vegetarians in Paradise website.
History
Sunflower plants and seeds have a long and fascinating history, says Vegetarians in Paradise. Native to both North and South America, the seeds were used as a staple by Native Americans for thousands of years. In the 1700s, Peter the Great took sunflower seeds back from Holland to Russia, where sunflower oil became widely used. Mennonites from Russia then took the seeds with them to Canada and reintroduced them to North America.
Considered to be the "most cheerful flower," sunflower plants can grow as tall as 25 feet. They turn with the sun, facing east in the morning and west as the sun is setting.
Nutritional Benefits
As the Vegetarians in Paradise website points out, all seeds are highly concentrated foods, and sunflower seeds are one of the best in terms of its nutritional value. One ounce of raw seeds contains 160 calories, 7 g protein, 4 g fiber and only 6 g carbohydrates. They're a low-sodium food, with just 3 g sodium. Raw sunflower seeds also are a rich source of vitamin E, a valuable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and a source of vital minerals such as magnesium and selenium as well as linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid.
Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
According to Vegetarians in Paradise, the germination process can multiply the nutritional value of the nutrients in sunflower seeds by 300 to 1,200 percent. In additional to the previously mentioned nutritional benefits of sunflower seeds, spouted seed contain lots of iron, which can combat anemia, and lots of chlorophyll, which helps detoxify the liver and the blood. The World's Healthiest Foods website notes that sprouted and unsprouted sunflower seeds are an excellent source of phytosterols, which reduce cholesterol, enhance the immune response and decrease the risk of certain cancers.
Sunflower Seed Fats
Sprouted and unsprouted sunflower seeds contain a high level of fats -- 13 g for each ounce of seeds.
But that's OK. As MayoClinic.com notes, sunflower seeds and oil contain polyunsaturated fat, one of the "good" fats. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids, which appear to be especially valuable in decreasing the risk of coronary artery disease. Omega-3 also helps lower blood pressure.
Considerations
The Institute of Food Research is studying an emulsifier in sunflower seed protein that can bind oil-based and water-based food ingredients. This might enable food companies to switch from their current use of the dairy-based protein casein, which is associated with allergies. Various parts of sunflowers are used in everything from paint to bird seed to horse, cattle and sheep food. But the petals of the sunflower are off-limits, since they are poisonous.
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