There isn’t anything too much more Americana to do in the summertime than attend a baseball game while enjoying a package of sunflower seeds to munch on. Managing to bypass the foot-longs and nachos opting for sunflower seeds as your go-to snack instead, makes you a very smart person.
From the time more and more baseball players switched from spitting chewing tobacco to spitting sunflower seeds – a much healthier choice – they have been notoriously associated with the game of baseball. Even truck drivers enjoy sunflower seeds keeping them busy and alert while driving long hours.
Sales of sunflower seeds tend to peak in the summer months since their niche market is people who enjoy outdoor activities. But it’s the baseball parks, both pro and amateur, where sunflower seed consumption remain an all-American and at an all-time high. Not only are these seeds delicious and fun to eat but there is a whole lot of nutritional benefits just waiting to be cracked open.
“Sunflower seeds are a perfect snack to choose while attending summer activities,” stated Dr. David Samadi, chairman of urology and chief of robotic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “But really, anytime of year is a great time for having a handful of this very nutritious see packed with valuable nutrients we all need.”
Vitamin E
If you’re looking for an excellent source of vitamin E, sunflower seeds can fulfill your need providing 9.3 milligrams out of the recommended daily requirement of 15 milligrams for both men and women – that’s two-thirds right there.
Vitamin E belongs to the family of fat-soluble vitamins that works as an antioxidant. It helps protect cells from free radicals which are chemicals meant to do damage to your cell membranes and DNA. Our immune system wouldn’t be as strong without sufficient vitamin as it helps protect us against viruses and bacteria.
Vitamin E has a special function of helping to widen blood vessels keeping blood from clotting inside of them. The formation of red blood cells requires vitamin E and without vitamin E our body could not use vitamin K sufficiently.
Thiamine
Sunflower seeds have a significant amount of this B-vitamin – one ounce provides 0.4 milligrams or 28 percent of the recommended daily allowance for both men (1.2 milligrams) and women (1.1 milligrams).
Thiamine, a water-soluble vitamin, has one of the distinctions of being one of the first compounds recognized as a vitamin. It is particularly important for nerve function because glucose is the energy source for nerve cells. In addition to its role in energy metabolism, thiamin is needed for the synthesis of neurotransmitters, and the metabolism of other sugars and certain amino acids.
Copper
Shelling sunflower seeds is a great source of the mineral copper with one ounce proving 512 micrograms of the 900 micrograms needed daily. It is a little known fact that consuming too little copper can cause iron deficiency anemia.
Iron status and cooper status are interrelated because a copper-containing protein is needed for iron to be transported from the intestinal cells. Copper is required for the transport of iron to the bone marrow for red blood cell formation. Even if your iron intake is adequate, without copper, iron can’t get to the tissues.
Copper also functions in lipid metabolism, maintenance of heart muscle, and as a function of the immune and central nervous system.
Magnesium
Another mineral found in sunflower seeds is magnesium – one ounce provides 23 percent of the recommended daily amount. About 50 to 60 percent of magnesium in the body is in bone, where it helps maintain bone structure. It has various jobs from regulating calcium homeostasis, regulating blood pressure, and appears to play a role in maintaining cardiovascular health.
“The intake of this critical mineral is often low in many individual’s diets,” said Dr. Samadi. “Many of the common food sources, such as sunflower seeds, are not being consumed sufficiently leading to decreased intakes.
Magnesium helps in more than 300 enzyme systems that regulate diverse biochemical reactions in our bodies, things such as protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, controlling our blood glucose and blood pressure. It’s not a mineral to ignore.”
Adding more sunflower seeds to your diet
Be creative and sprinkle in the seed of summer into many dishes you prepare – add to hot or cold cereal, sprinkle in tuna, chicken or egg salad sandwiches, or add to pureed soups. Even though sunflower seeds harbor many health benefits, one drawback is their abundance of calories – one-half cup of dry roasted kernels will have about 409 calories. Enjoy but go easy on the portion size.
Make this ‘big league’ snack a favorite part of your summertime favorite foods.
