Sunflower seeds: nutrition per 100 g

1. 01

   Magnesium near the very top

   At 413 mg per 100 g, sunflower seeds rank 2nd of 242 foods and 1st of 14 nuts and oilseeds for magnesium, covering about 94 per cent of a man's and 112 per cent of a woman's daily requirement.

2. 02

   Zinc and protein

   They carry 7.07 mg zinc, 4th of 243 foods, and 23.5 g protein, 8th of 257, per 100 g. The zinc meets about 42 per cent of a man's and 54 per cent of a woman's requirement.

3. 03

   Vitamin E and B6

   100 g gives 21.39 mg vitamin E, 4th of 242 foods, and 0.94 mg vitamin B6, about 39 per cent of a man's and 49 per cent of a woman's daily need.

4. 04

   Copper, thiamine and folate

   Sunflower seeds have 2.78 mg copper, 0.59 mg thiamine, 8th of 239 foods, and 82 micrograms of folate per 100 g.

Values per 100 g of the edible portion. Source: Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad. Daily-need shares use the ICMR-NIN 2020 recommended dietary allowances for a 65 kg man and a 55 kg woman doing sedentary work (ICMR-NIN brief note). Nutrients IFCT did not analyse for this food are left out rather than shown as zero.

• A spoonful of roasted kernels over poha, upma or a bowl of sprouts.
• Mixed with peanuts, sesame and flax into a seed chikki with jaggery.
• Added to multigrain roti dough or home-baked bread.
• Tossed into a salad of cucumber, carrot and lemon for crunch.
• Unshelled roasted seeds, cracked one by one as a slow snack.

Packaged sunflower seeds are often heavily salted, so read the label or buy plain ones. The seeds are dense at 586 kcal per 100 g, and their fat is mostly omega-6 rather than omega-3, so they are best eaten by the spoonful, not the bowl. Swallowing large numbers of shells, a habit some snackers have, can block the bowel; spit the shells out. Sunflower seed allergy is uncommon but does occur.

Food composition is general information, not a diet plan. Anyone managing a medical condition should plan their diet with a doctor or a registered dietitian.

• Sunflower oil

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Safflower seeds

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Pistachio

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Flaxseeds (alsi)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

• Peanuts (groundnut)

  Nutrition per 100 g, from IFCT 2017.

All Indian foods · Nutrient tables · Food comparisons