Nowadays, many people often use Sunflower oil just for cooking as it is known for its great translucent and clear color. Nevertheless, it’s perfectly good for roasting and frying although other users do use vegetable oils such as soybean oil, linseed oil (salad oil), and rapeseed oil.
Nonetheless, before we dive into the 10 important Health Benefits Of Sunflower oil, let us try to understand what Sunflower oil is all about including some of its common effects you won’t believe it.
What Is Sunflower Oil?
It is a non-volatile oil from the seed of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Furthermore, it is best used as frying oil and in cosmetics formulations as an emollient.
Additionally, it comprises polyunsaturated fat, oleic acid, and linoleic acid. There are continuous and several selective breeding and manufacturing processes to produce oils of different proportions of fatty acids. Moreso, sunflower oil has a large number of vitamin E and somehow neutral taste profiles. To know more about Sunflower oil, please Click Here.
Different types of sunflower oil
There’re principally four (4) types of sunflower oil made from sunflower seeds. These seeds are later bred to produce different compositions. These four types include;
- high linoleic (68% linoleic acid),
- mid-oleic (NuSun, 65% oleic acid),
- high oleic (82% oleic acid), and
- high stearic/high oleic (Nutrisun, 72% oleic acid, 18% stearic acid).
As you have seen in their names, some are way higher in either oleic acid or linoleic. Nevertheless, let’s talk about these types of sunflower oil
Firstly, high stearic/high oleic sunflower oil contains stearic acid, a saturated fat that is solid at RTP. It equally has different culinary applications.
high stearic/high oleic sunflower oil is not meant for home cooking and instead may be used in ice creams, packaged foods, chocolate, and industrial frying.
Secondly, Linoleic acid also known as Omega-6 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. Also, it has two double bonds in its carbon chain. On the other hand, Oleic acid or Omega-9 is a monounsaturated fatty acid having one double bond
Notably, oleic and Linoleic acid are both sources of energy for the body and contribute to cell and tissue strength. However, they also react in different ways to heat during cooking and therefore may have varying effects on your health.
Important note
Most seeds are very rich in Vitamin E, containing about 35.17mg of Vitamin E per 100g. Moreso, Vit E is a powerful antioxidant, good for maintaining the integrity of the skin. It however helps the skin from harmful oxygen-free radicals and leaves the skin looking beautiful and fresh.
Sunflower kernels contain 227 µg of folic acid that’s about 37% of daily intake. Furthermore, folic acid is very essential for DNA synthesis and however helps to present changes to DNA.
Nutrition In different sunflower oils
All sunflower oils contain vitamin E and 100% fat, a fat-soluble nutrient that helps protects cells from age-related damage.
Sunflower oils don’t contain protein, sodium, carbs, or cholesterol. The table below is a summary of the main differences in fatty acid composition.
| High linoleic | Mid-oleic (NuSun) | High oleic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 120 | 120 | 120 |
| Total fat | 14 grams | 14 grams | 14 grams |
| Saturated | 1 gram | 1 gram | 1 gram |
| Monounsaturated | 3 grams | 8 grams | 11 grams |
| Polyunsaturated | 9 grams | 4 grams | 0.5 grams |
10 Important Health Benefits Of Sunflower Oil
In the United State, Sunflower is one of the few crops natives do cultivate there. It all started around 1000BC when many took it upon themselves to start cultivating. It was only around the 1800s that Sunflowers reached Europe. Upon the arrival of Sunflower seed in Russia, its oil content amazed most farmers and as such the farmers selectively bred the plant until they could double the oil content
Presently, Sunflower oil has many uses such as medicine, body treatment, and food. However, you can get it in different varieties of forms. Furthermore, it is best for its flavor and high smoke state. Without With outstanding, let’s talk about the 10 important Health Benefits Of Sunflower oil and other interactions.
1. Skin Care/ Skin Health
This magical plant has an outstanding impact on the human skin and does not cause erythema, also helping to improve hydration. Sunflower oil is a major key in infant massage to enhance the skin. Furthermore, it moisturizes the skin barrier.
Furthermore, many people, however, use olive oil for dry skin reason being that it contains Vitamin E, A, D, and C, which helps keeps the moisturized with its antioxidant activities. Sunflower oil on the other hand helps the skin cells to regenerate and also prevent acne. Last but not the least, Vitamin E in Sunflower oil greatly helps against UV radiation.
2. Helps Prevents Asthma
Its Vitamin E reduces and also prevents oxygen damage to the tissue. This is also useful for the treatment of pain, inflammation, and other allergic reactions. Many research shows that vitamin E reduces bronchoconstriction associated with asthma. Showing a lower prevalence of wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath compared. And as such Sunflower oil which is rich in Vitamine E will be a good match for asthma.
3. Improves Heart Health
To be able to make sure you are in good shape, your heart always needs to be busy with its activities and a failure might lead to the failure of the entire system. Nevertheless, if you have high cholesterol in your body, you are most likely to have a heart attack or stroke, and high blood pressure. Nonetheless, Sunflower oil is the master of keeping a healthy heart.
Furthermore, as it contains Vitamin E, this already fact help prevents dangerous free radicals from oxidizing the body’s cholesterol. Thus, sunflower seed oil can be a super ingredient to be used for cooking.
4. Helps Prevents Arthritis
Sunflower seed oil has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory capacity. Its lipid is linoleic acid, which possibly decreases inflammation in the skin by activating peroxisome proliferative-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α). Thus, can be possibly used in the right dose as a remedy for Arthritis.
5. Improves Digestion
It contains high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). polyunsaturated fatty acids are found to increase digestibility thus, healthy digestion. Unless you don’t want easy digestion but if you do we say you try Sunflower oil.
6. Cancer
As we all know, its seed is rich in Vitamine A and carotenoids. Its antioxidant helps fight the free radicals which cause the decline of cells and inhibits the growth of cancerous cells. However, there’s selenium in sunflower seed which repairs cellular damages. Lastly, including sunflower oil in your diet may also help prevent cancerous infections
7. Reduction in Depression & Anxiety
Having magnesium (Mg)which helps in mood disorders like anxiety and depression may just be what you are looking for. Furthermore, Mg ions help regulate calcium ion flow in neuronal calcium paths. Thus, this however helps treat the above symptoms.
8. Perfect Hair Health
There is a higher amount of tocopherol in sunflower oil than you can ever imagine. Taking natural vitamin E may also help against collagen cross-linking, leading to hair health. Furthermore, it helps to treat hair loss and baldness.
9. Helps With Weight Loss
Sunflower oil helps increase adiponectin levels in post-menopause women and as such, reduces weight. Many people today’s dream is to have a perfectly fit body, so Sunflower oil is the perfect natural oil you need now.
10. Immune System
Sunflower oil provides adequate linoleic acid for the maintenance of the immune response. Linoleic acid is needed for normal immune response, and essential fatty acid (EFA) deficiency impairs B and T-cell-mediated responses. It equally helps in building new cells and tissues of the body, which is beneficial in boosting the immune system.
Other Cooking Oil Vs Sunflower Oil
Firstly, consuming a small amount of high-oleic sunflower oil may give you marginal benefits for heart health. Mid-oleic or high-linoleic sunflower oil doesn’t necessarily have the same benefits. Moreso, other dangerous compounds may be produced during deep frying at high temperatures. Additionally, avocado and olive oil are also in monounsaturated oleic acid and less toxic when heated.
Furthermore, it’s preferable to use palm oil, high-oleic sunflower, and canola are the best and most stable for cooking. oils that are low in polyunsaturated fat as above are best for cooking.
Conclusively, sunflower oil may be good in a small amount while other oils may be perfect and provide greater benefits. Sunflower oil may however be the best in certain cases but other oils may as well come in. Sunflower Seed Oil we will talk about.
Sunflower Oil Nutrition Profile
Sunflower oil however has so many incredible health nutrients and if you want to include oil in your diet, it should be Sunflower oil. Furthermore, from the table below you can see how nutritious Sunflower oil is to your health.
The nutritional value per 100g of Sunflower oil is as follows
| Nutrition | Nutritional Value |
|---|---|
| Calories | 884 kcal |
| Total Fat | 100 g |
| Saturated fat | 13 g |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 63.75g |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 20.45g |
| Vitamin E – 41 mg | (274% DV) |
Sunflower Kernel Nutritional Value
The kernel of Sunflower oil or sunflower oil is an excellent source of Vit B-complex such as minerals, pyridoxine, niacin, and folic acid.
| Sunflower seeds/Kernel | |
| Calories | 163 |
| Total fat, which includes: | 14 grams |
| • Saturated fat | 1.5 grams |
| • Polyunsaturated fat | 9.2 grams |
| • Monounsaturated fat | 2.7 grams |
| Protein | 5.5 grams |
| Carbs | 6.5 grams |
| Fiber | 3 grams |
| Vitamin E | 37% of the RDI |
| Niacin | 10% of the RDI |
| Vitamin B6 | 11% of the RDI |
| Folate | 17% of the RDI |
| Pantothenic acid | 20% of the RDI |
| Iron | 6% of the RDI |
| Magnesium | 9% of the RDI |
| Zinc | 10% of the RDI |
| Copper | 26% of the RDI |
| Manganese | 30% of the RDI |
| Selenium | 32% of the RDI |
Nutritional Profile of Sunflower Seed Oil
As we all know, Sunflower oil has a low saturated fat but is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acid linoleic acid. This however constitutes around 50% fatty acid. Omega-6 for example has a high content of polyunsaturated fats with a number of body processes. It helps in building up strong hair, and immune systems. Nonetheless, it is also known to prevent coronary artery diseases and stroke by stabilizing the lipid profile.
Why Choose Sunflower Oil Over Other Oils
Sunflower oil has a lot of health benefits because it is low in saturated fat and high in two types of fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and monounsaturated fatty acids. Nonetheless, 10 Important Health Benefits Of Sunflower Oil may not also be what you a looking for, for more information please Get to us HERE.