Eating a handful of nuts and seeds every day may help you achieve better health. Nuts and seeds, like almonds and sunflower seeds, are recommended as part of the heart-healthy Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension eating plan, which you can use to reduce blood pressure, says Alice Henneman, extension educator for the University of Nebraska. Almonds and sunflower seeds provide many nutrients.
Magnesium, Manganese and Vitamin E
Sunflower seeds and almonds are both good sources of magnesium, manganese and vitamin E. Just 1 oz. of almonds provides 37 percent of your recommended daily amount of vitamin E, 19 percent of your RDA for magnesium and 32 percent of your daily need for manganese. An ounce of sunflower seeds gives you 47 percent of your daily vitamin E, 23 percent of your RDA for magnesium and 27 percent of needed manganese. Recommended daily amounts are based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Trace Nutrients
Sunflower seeds also are a good source of other nutrients. One ounce provides 28 percent of your RDA of thiamin, as well as 19 percent of your daily recommended vitamin B6 and 16 percent of the folate you require in a day. A 1-ounce portion of seeds also provides 18 percent of the phosphorus, 25 percent of the copper and 21 percent of the selenium you need daily.
Almonds serve as a good source of riboflavin, with 1 oz. giving you 17 percent of your daily needs.
Fiber Content
Nuts and seeds like sunflowers and almonds also pack a powerful fiber punch, say Karen E. Drummond and Lisa M. Brefere, authors of "Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals." Sunflower seeds give you 10 percent of the fiber you need daily in a 1 oz. serving, while the same size serving of almonds provides 14 percent.
Fat Content
Seeds and nuts are high in fat, but fortunately it's mostly the healthy kind rather than saturated fat, say Drummond and Brefere. Some 121 calories out of the 164 calories in sunflower seeds come from fat. An ounce of sunflower seeds, for example, has 5.2 g monounsaturated fat, 6.5 g polyunsaturated fat and 1.2 g saturated fat. In almonds, 117 of the 161 calories in a 1 oz. amount come from fat. About 8.7 g come from monounsaturated fat, while 3.4 g come from polyunsaturated fat and 1.1 g is from saturated fat. Neither almonds nor sunflower seeds contain trans fats. Unsaturated fats may help to lower your levels of "bad" high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, says Henneman.
Omega Acids
Both of these foods are a good sources of omega-6 fatty acids and provide some omega-3 fatty acids as well. Sunflower seeds have 6,454 mg omega-6 fatty acids and 20.7 mg omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds have 3,408 mg omega-6 fatty acids and 1.7 mg omega-3 fatty acids.
Other Nutritional Information
Sunflower seeds and almonds each provide 6 g of protein and 6 g of carbohydrate in a 1 oz. serving. That's only two percent of your RDA for carbohydrates, but it's 12 percent of your daily protein need. Overall, almonds provide 21 percent of your daily allotment for fat in a 1 oz. serving, while sunflower seeds provide 22 percent of the daily RDA.
References
- University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension: Nuts for Nutrition
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service: Almonds
- Nutrition Data: Seeds, Sunflower Seed Kernels, Dried
- Nutrition Data: Nuts, Almonds
- "Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals"; Karen E. Drummond and Lisa M. Brefere; 2009
Member Comments