Varieties Available

• Shelled raw sunflower seeds
• Shelled roasted (no salt) sunflower seeds
• Shelled roasted salted sunflower seeds

Health benefits of sunflower seeds

• Delicious, nutty, and crunchy sunflower seeds are widely considered as healthful foods. They are high in energy; 100 g seeds hold about 584 calories.
• Much of their calories come from fatty acids. The seeds are especially rich in poly-unsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid, which constitute more 50% fatty acids in them. They are also good in mono-unsaturated oleic acid that helps lower LDL or “bad cholesterol” and increases HDL or “good-cholesterol” in the blood.
• Sunflower seeds are a very good source of proteins loaded with fine quality amino acids such as tryptophan that are essential for growth, especially in children. Just 100 g of seeds provide about 21 g of protein (37% of daily-recommended values).
• Sunflower seeds contain health benefiting poly-phenol compounds such as chlorogenic acid, quinic acid, and caffeic acids. These compounds are natural anti-oxidants, which help remove harmful oxidant molecules from the body. Further, chlorogenic acid helps reduce blood sugar levels by limiting glycogen breakdown in the liver.
• Sunflower seeds are a very rich source of vitamin E; contain about 35.17 g per 100 g (about 234% of RDA). Vitamin E is a powerful lipid soluble antioxidant, required for maintaining the integrity of cell membrane of mucus membranes and skin by protecting it from harmful oxygen-free radicals.
• Sunflower seeds are one of the finest sources of B-complex group of vitamins. They are very good sources of B-complex vitamins such as niacin, folic acid, thiamin (vitamin B1), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), pantothenic acid, and riboflavin.
• Sunflower seeds are incredible sources of folic acid. 100 g of kernels contains 227 µg of folic acid, which is about 37% of recommended daily intake. Folic acid is essential for DNA synthesis.
• Niacin and pyridoxine are other B-complex vitamins found abundantly in the sunflower seeds. About 8.35 mg or 52% of daily-required levels of niacin is provided by just 100 g of seeds. Niacin helps reduce LDL-cholesterol levels in the blood. Niacin enhances GABA activity inside the brain, which in turn helps to reduce anxiety and neurosis.
• Sunflower seeds are incredibly rich sources of many essential minerals. Calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, selenium and copper are especially concentrated in sunflower seeds. Many of these minerals play a vital role in bone mineralization, red blood cell production, enzyme secretion, hormone production, as well as in the regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle activities.

Just a handful of sunflower seeds a day provides much of the recommended level of phenolic anti-oxidants, minerals, vitamins and protein.

Storage

Store in a cool dry place. Ok to refrigerate or freeze.

Nutritional information sources: nutrition-and-you.com, USDA National Nutrient data base