When you think of sunflower seeds, you may think of baseball and all the players who love gnawing on these large seeds while they await their turn up at bat. It turns out baseball players may have been ahead of the curve when it comes to this nutritional powerhouse.
There are a great many health benefits of eating sunflower seeds. From helping to fill you up to providing essential vitamins and minerals that fight against deadly diseases, these tiny seeds should be a part of any balanced diet. It’s easy to add them to a smoothie, sprinkle them on a salad or drop a few into a stir-fry to reap their many rewards. Here are five great ways sunflower seeds can improve your diet.
1. They Are Packed With Fiber
Fiber helps fill you up and keeps you from getting the munchies between lunch and dinner, which can lead to poor eating habits. Instead of filling up on candy from the office vending machine to satisfy your hunger, keep a package of sunflower seeds around. The fiber will settle your belly and keep you full until dinner, when you’ll make better nutritional decisions because you aren’t ravenous.
2. They Fight Cancer
Sunflower seeds are high in selenium, a nutrient that helps repair damaged cells and thus blocks the manufacture of cancer cells.
3. They Lower Cholesterol
The phytosterols present in sunflower seeds directly fight the cholesterol in your body and decrease the amount in your blood. As an added bonus, phytosterols can also improve your body’s immune response.
4. They Fight Off Inflammation
Your body can experience inflammation due to anything from an infection to a sports injury. Too much inflammation can lead to damage in the intestines, joints and other parts of the body. Vitamin E serves as a potent counterpoint to inflammation, helping to reduce it. That can even result in fewer asthma symptoms, a reduction of diabetes complications and less-frequent hot flashes for women in menopause.
5. They Boost Your Mood
Sunflower seeds contain a potent dose of magnesium, which patients suffering from depression once took to help them recover. A handful of sunflower seeds can help lift your mood. The magnesium also promotes improved respiratory system functioning and better heart health.
Get the Health Benefits of Sunflower Seeds in Your Diet Today
Whether you like them already shelled or you enjoy chewing the rugged outer layer, sunflower seeds make a delicious and surprisingly nutritious addition to any meal plan. They have a nutty flavor that blends in well with fruits, veggies and meats. You will find endless uses for these little nuts when you order them from Sincerely Nuts today. Choose from our wide variety of seeds:
- Roasted & Salted (No Shell)
- Roasted & Unsalted (No Shell)
- Sunflower Seed Kernals Raw
- Large Sunflower Seeds Roasted & Salted
- Large Sunflowr Seeds Roasted & Unsalted
- Sunflower Seeds Roasted & Salted In Shell
- Organic Sunflower Seeds (Raw, No Shell)
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