The Urban Trainer Blog - UK

Many of us choose this fruit as a healthy snack. Yes, I said fruit; so I thought it time to take a closer look. Sunflower seeds are actually the fruit of the sunflower and when the hull is taken off you are left with a kernel. The plant grew wild in North America and was originally used by the native Indians, the first patent for squeezing oil from the plant was in 1716 in England, and the commercial varieties were developed in Russia an imported back to the US in the 19th Century. So sunflower seeds, and sunflower oil have been in use for a long time, it is not surprising then that the sunflower seed is small in size and big on nutritional content.

Most of us know that gram for gram the sunflower seed has a high fat content; indeed fat phobia has led people to shun this seed. However, the sunflower seed is packed with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, the fats that act to lower LDL cholesterol levels. Or put another way 90% of the fats in sunflower seeds act to lower bad cholesterol levels, which is very beneficial to your heart indeed. You will also find a hearty level of protein of the sunflower seed is delivered with other health benefits. The sunflower seed is high in Vitamin E and selenium. Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant and works synergistically with selenium to help prevent the free radical damage increasing identified as critical in the development of cancers and heart disease as well as other conditions detrimental to health. More than that, good anti-oxidant status is even more critical for the hard training athlete than any sedentary individual because of the increased free radical production that giving it 100% produces.

Sunflower seeds also deliver folate, another micronutrient critical to good health. Folate is needed for the proper function of DNA and RNA and has a role in mediating homocysteine levels, a key component of heart health. Folate pairs with B12 in the making of red blood cells, and almost as handy is that sunflower seeds pack a good dose of B vitamins along with the folate. B vitamins are used in a whole range of metabolic processes and are essential to good health; good health equals progress, of course.

And the good news does not end with vitamins; sunflower seeds also deliver copper, zinc and iron - key minerals for good health in their own right. All this is wrapped up with fibre, key for the proper function and health of the digestive tract, and a range of phyto-chemicals - which are being investigated for their own health benefits in their own right.

For best results use a small number of seeds spaced through the day, not all at once. This is easy because they can be used in a number of dishes as well as be eaten on their own.