When you think of sunflower seeds, you might think of baseball games when players eat sunflower seeds by the handful. Crack open the hard exterior and enjoy the little seed. You can also convert them to delicious snacks use other ingredients to make something filling and healthy. Or you can just pop them in your mouth!
Despite seeds they are known to have some healing powers, it is important that you know which ones to grab off the shelves. Toby AmidorMS, DR, CDN, FAN award-winning nutrition expert, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Diabetes Create Your Plate Meal Prep Cookbook discusses the side effects of eating sunflower seeds. Read on, then be sure to check out more with Side Effects of Eating Pumpkin Seeds, Dietitians Say.
According to Amidor, sunflower seeds provide monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. For an ounce of sunflower seeds, you’ll find about three grams and nine grams of each.
Have a healthy dose of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet can help reduce inflammation. “Unsaturated fats have been shown to help decrease inflammation,” says Amidor.
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“Choosing salted sunflower seeds can certainly send your sodium RDA skyrocketing,” says Amidor.
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 We recommend choosing nuts and seeds that have sodium free.
An example that Amidor provides is with a portion of David’s Original Sunflower Seeds. These seeds contain 123% of the daily recommended amount or 2,820 milligrams of sodium.
“The recommended daily maximum under the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines is 2,300! If you choose to have sunflower seeds, opt for varieties with no added salt,” Amidor suggests.
“A study published in the journal Circulation found that participants who ate more seeds, including sunflower seeds, were associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors, including high cholesterol,” explains Amidor.
Similarly, sunflower seeds can help lower blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it can damage the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. This can potentially cause a heart attack or heart failure if you overwork yourself.
According to the Cureus Journal of Medical SciencesSunflower seeds contain chlorogenic acid, which studies have shown to lower blood sugar. Other studies have also suggested that sunflower seeds provide better glycemic control, which means that these seeds have anti-diabetic properties.
“A study published in the Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research looked at the effects of consuming sunflower seeds on blood sugar levels in people with diabetes,” explains Amidor.
Therefore, this study suggested that those who took sunflower seeds showed a positive and faster decrease in their fast. blood sugar levels compared to those in the control group.
Kayla Garritano
Kayla Garritano is a staff writer for Eat This, Not That! She is a graduate of Hofstra University, where she majored in Journalism and double majored in Marketing and Creative Writing. read more
