Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh depicted their bright yellow beauty in a series of paintings he named Sunflowers or in French, Tournesol. But these giant flowers do a lot more than inspire artists. The alkalizing seeds of the sunflower, besides being crunchy and delicious, contain high levels of important nutrients that help you build your bones and prevent another condition we all dread.
They contain…
Crucial Bone-Healthy Nutrients
Sunflower seeds are alkalizing and are an excellent source of manganese and copper. Both are trace minerals necessary for the synthesis of connective tissue in cartilage and bone. A quarter of a cup of these crunchy marvels contains well over 30% of the RDA of these Foundation Supplements.
Magnesium, another Foundation Supplement often ignored by mainstream medicine, is also quite abundant in these tasty seeds. You can get around 100 mg in a quarter of a cup. Add to the list generous amounts of vitamins B1, B6, and folate, all of which are also Foundation Supplements, and you’ll really want to have these delicious seeds handy.
Eat Them Raw and Unsalted
You’ll get the most benefits from sunflower seeds when you eat them raw and unsalted. If you’d like to add a little salt for flavor, then use sea salt, but in moderation. Whether shelled or unshelled, they should be firm and crunchy, not limp and soft or yellowish in color. I prefer to get them shelled for added convenience and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, so they stay fresh longer.
And there’s more about sunflower seeds, because they are…
An Outstanding Source of Vitamin E
A quarter of a cup provides 62% of the RDA for Vitamin E, also known as tocopherol. This potent antioxidant performs a myriad of important functions in the body. Relating to bone health, it supports proper bone remodeling, as I wrote in a previous blog post.
Vitamin E’s anti-inflammatory effect as well as its cardiovascular benefits are widely discussed topics in the natural health arena. But did you know that…
Dietary Vitamin E Can Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease
Indeed, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has shown that those who consumed foods rich in Vitamin E, averaging only 11.4 IU per day, had a 67% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than those who consumed about half that amount.1 Interestingly, Vitamin E from supplements was not associated with risk reduction. By the way, the RDA of vitamin E is 22 IU per day.
So don’t forget to add sunflower seeds to your salads, stirred-fried veggies, casseroles, and to any of your favorite dishes — your brain and your bones will thank you.
References
1 Martha Clare Morris, ScD et al. “Dietary Intake of Antioxidant Nutrients and the Risk of Incident Alzheimer Disease in a Biracial Community Study.” JAMA. 2002;287(24):3230-3237. doi:10.1001/jama.287.24.3230.
Can sunflower seeds use to child brain development?
Hi Vijay,
Sunflower seeds are good for brains of all ages! Some parents like to use sunflower butter instead of peanut butter for this reason (and because of peanut allergies).
I would like to tell about sunflower lecithin benefits. It has 25% more choline than soy lecithin and used to make acetylcholine, a nerve chemical essential for proper brain function. That’s why we have to use it in our stress life and it’s helpful with Alzheimer and other brain problems. It works like isolation on our nerves and they become function w/out any “sparkles”. It also good for somebody who stutters because stuttering is a brain problem. Sunflower lecithin helps my child what couldn’t do one year speech program.
I’m interested in this too, and made it to this site by trying to research how much lecithin is in what amount of sunflower seeds. Because, I kind of know a minimum/maximum dosage of lecithin to shoot for, but, I on’t know if eating, say, 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds per day (or less) would provide an appreciable amount of lecithin or not.
The reason I’m looking into it as I have read it is great for healing the liver and detoxifying the body. I’ll buy it in some sort of supplement form, if needed, but, I prefer raw whole foods (or, close to) whenever they will be potent enough.
I’m looking for the answer to that question too!! Plz let me know what you find out. How many sunflower seeds does it take to get a recommended dose of sunflower lecithin?
Distilled water is worse than alkaline water because doesn’t have any minerals, alkaline water cannot be made with out calcium. It’s very simple answer, for more info you need to do some research.
I’am looking for the name of the calcium that would be best absorbed with someone with severe osteoporosis .
Corral calcium is the best, my mom uses Alka-Mine product, her nails start to grow nicely in a month
In 2008 my bone density scan showed some osteopenia in L1-L4 area and my doctor wanted me to start on Boniva. I do not like putting any medicine into my body if not absolutely necessary. I did my research and found your Osteoporosis Reversal Program. I refused medication and began your program, although not to the letter, but somewhat loosely. My bone density scan in 2010 showed slight improvement and my recent scan shows more improvement. Each time my doctor has said, “Keep up what you’re doing.” I am so glad I am stubborn about some things and greatly appreciate your program. My sincere thanks.
That’s great!
hi Vivian I LIVE reading your articles. Thank you so much.
rosanna
Your’re very welcome!
Hi! Vivian,
Another VERY GOOD Article! I LOVE SUNFLOWER SEEDS. WHERE CAN YOU GET THEM UNSALTED? All The Places I Go, They Are Already Salted!
Bye For Now. Take Care, And Stay Well!
LOVE, LESLIE (MS. L.)
You can get unsalted sunflower seeds at Trader Joe’s. I use them on plain yogurt and on salads. They’re delicious.
Mary Ann
They are very easy to sprout and much better for you!
Hi there,is it advisable to chewing it raw
I love using sunflower seeds in my morning smoothie as they are also a great source of protein. Thanks once again for all your very useful information.
Great Information
Thanks
Shula
You’re welcome!
My pleasure, Shula!
Because of your blogs, I bought and used sea salt from a local spice shop. I began having problems keeping my weight down for no apparent reason. When I researched this on the web, I learned that I may have had an iodide depletion; when tested, such was indeed the case. So I went back to ordinary iodized table salt, and presto, the problem disappeared (though I always have had to watch my weight carefully). I’ve since found that iodized sea salt is available, and I’ll switch to that when I need to buy salt again.
In your case, better to take Real Salt, it has iodine naturally /www.realsalt.com/. Or you can use sea salt and take 1 capsule of kelp (iodine 400mcg – 267%.
I have been eating sun flower seeds for many years for my enlarged prostate & is giving results.I am also eating pumpkin seeds for the bsame purpose.
Great article. Really enjoyed reading it. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
I want to thank you for all the information you sent to all of us whom in one way or another can identify with the common illness, pains and more health problems as we grow older. I read and listen to all your suggestions and I know that it will help me and many other woman that read en enjoy your book and videos. God bless you for being there for us.
Maria
I thank you for your kind words!
I hope sunflower butter is as good for you, I eat sunflower butter and almond butter with an apple or pear for lunch pretty much every day.
Sunflower butter is another good way to get the nutrients.
Vivian, I have used “Sunflower Seed Butter” as a pleasant replacement for peanut, almond, and other nut butters. I buy the organic, creamy variety, made in Paris, Ontario. The only ingredients listed are “Dry-roasted organic sunflower seeds”. The “Nutrition Facts” include Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron, but not the trace minerals. Perhaps these items are not among those required for declaration, and/or the content of trace minerals is below the specified threshold.
I sometimes include the seeds in a “home-made trail mix”, containing various nuts, seeds and dried fruits.
Thank you for your presentation of sunflower seeds as a healthy snack choice.
Hello Mary, do you buy your sunflower seed butter from Ontario in the US? The only kind I can find is organic but has some sugar and sunflower oil added, I would like to find the kind you have without the sugar.
Diane
It is an interesting piece of information I read about sunflower seeds. Thank you so much. I’d like to know if sunflower oil, used as a medium for cooking in India apart from other oil as rice bran oil etc, too has all the properties as in the seeds.If so, what quantity of sunflower oil ought to be used on a daily basis for a family of two to get the same effect as half a cup of sunflower seeds?
Using oil to replace the seeds is not recommended. Because seed oils such as sunflower oil undergo different methods of refining and have been shown to be highly inflammatory.
Sunflower seeds are wonderful source of nutrients, no question about that. However, too much sunflower ‘oil’, which will obviously obtained when one eats the whole seeds, provides high amounts of omega-6 polyunsaturates, and since a lot of this is used nowadays in foods, processed foods and in frying, out-balancing the omega-3/omega-6 ratio, it is worth stressing the point of watching the consumption of this.
When I bake my own spelt bread I throw in some sunflower seeds and pepitas.
Tastes delish.
I too bake my own spelt bread. I even mill the flour from the grains just before making bread. It makes the bread much nicer! And if it made with sourdough, it is most excellent !
Would you be willing to share your spelt bread recipe? Thank you!
That’s great, Marc!
Vivian,you wrote about using sea salt like it had some extra benefit. To my knowledge salt is salt and land salt maybe/only maybe, a few millon years older. That’s why you will not find an exasperation date on a salt container. I think the average salt container contains salt that is billions of years old. So put some fresh salt on your food.
Furthermore salt makes your brain work properly. And we came from the sea.
Well maybe not you but I did, millions or maybe billions of years ago. There is allot more to this but I have ran out of space.
to*******@*****st.net
Tom, as I write in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, talbe salt is bleached and has chemical additives. I recommend using pure sea salt.
Yes Vivian,
Sunflower seeds are also rich in LA (Linolenic Acid). Essential Fat Acid to build healthy celmembranes in our body and good transporters for Oxygen metabolism towards the mitochondria, the energy drivers of our body. Otto Warburg , Nobel Prize Winner, has proven that this is the main key to protect us from cancer.
Grtz,
WiM.