Sunflower Seeds
About Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower seeds, plain. The kernels (with the black-and-white striped shell removed) of the common sunflower. Eaten as a snack, sprinkled on salads, used in baking or pressed for sunflower oil.
Sunflower seeds are an outstanding source of:
- Vitamin E: one 30g handful covers more than a day's reference intake.
- Magnesium, selenium, copper, zinc and manganese.
- Thiamin (B1) and folate (B9).
They are calorie-dense (around 580 kcal per 100g) and high in unsaturated fat, so portions of 25 to 30g are typical.
Sunflower Seeds in more detail
Sunflower seeds are the cheapest way to get a very large amount of vitamin E into a diet. The figure on this page — 37.8 mg per 100 g, roughly nine times the adult reference intake — is among the highest of any whole food, and it exists because vitamin E is what protects the seed's own polyunsaturated oil from going rancid.
That same chemistry is why sunflower seeds themselves go rancid quickly once shelled. Nearly half their weight is oil and most of it is polyunsaturated, which is the least stable kind. Buy them in quantities you will use, keep them cool and dark, and taste one before adding a handful to something — rancid seeds are unmistakably bitter and will ruin a salad.
Toasting improves them considerably, but the same instability means they burn from perfect to acrid in about thirty seconds. Dry pan, medium heat, constant movement, off the heat while they are still lighter than you want.
Two useful contexts. Sunflower seed butter is the standard nut-free substitute for peanut butter in schools with allergy policies. And sunflower lecithin is increasingly used in place of soya lecithin (E322ii - Partially hydrolyzed lecithin) as an emulsifier in manufactured food, specifically because it avoids a declarable allergen.
Nutrients worth knowing about
Per 100 g, this page's panel shows Vitamin E at 37.8 mg (about 944% of the adult reference intake), Copper at 2.27 mg (189%), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) at 1.6 mg (160%), Manganese at 2.2 mg (157%), Magnesium at 390 mg (130%), Phosphorus at 640 mg (116%), Selenium at 49 µg (65%), Zinc at 5.1 mg (54%), Vitamin B3 (Niacin) at 9.1 mg (54%), Iron at 6.4 mg (43%) and Potassium at 710 mg (20%).
Read those against a realistic serving: 100 g of sunflower seeds is 576 kcal, and a tablespoon is nearer 10 g. Even at that scale the vitamin E contribution is substantial.
The 19.8 g of protein and 6 g of fibre per 100 g are useful, and the fat is predominantly unsaturated — 47.5 g total fat of which 6.58 g saturated.
Other nuts and seeds
Micronutrients (per 100g, raw)
| Nutrient | Amount | % adult reference intake |
|---|---|---|
| Minerals | ||
| Iron | 6.4 mg | 43% |
| Calcium | 110 mg | 16% |
| Magnesium | 390 mg | 130% |
| Potassium | 710 mg | 20% |
| Sodium | 3 mg | 0% |
| Chloride | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Phosphorus | 640 mg | 116% |
| Zinc | 5.1 mg | 54% |
| Copper | 2.27 mg | 189% |
| Manganese | 2.2 mg | 157% |
| Iodine | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Selenium | 49 ug | 65% |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 3 ug | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg | 0% |
| Vitamin D | 0 ug | 0% |
| Vitamin E | 37.8 mg | 944% |
| Vitamin K | not measured | . |
| Vitamin B1 (thiamin) | 1.6 mg | 160% |
| Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 0.19 mg | 15% |
| Vitamin B3 (niacin) | 9.1 mg | 54% |
| Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Vitamin B6 | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Vitamin B7 (biotin) | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Vitamin B9 (folate) | N (present, not quantified) | . |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 ug | 0% |
Source: CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson, UK), code 14-845 (matched record: "Sunflower seeds"). N = present but not quantified; Tr = trace; not measured = no value in the source.
What this food is a source of
High in by content (per 100g): Vitamin E (944%), Copper (189%), Vitamin B1 (thiamin) (160%), Manganese (157%), Magnesium (130%), Phosphorus (116%), Selenium (65%), Zinc (54%), Vitamin B3 (niacin) (54%), Iron (43%).
A source of by content (per 100g): Potassium (20%), Calcium (16%).
These figures are the amount in the food. How much the body absorbs can vary, see each nutrient's entry for detail.