These seeds are full of surprising nutrients!
If you already eat a fair amount of these tiny seeds, you might not need any convincing. But for the people who never eat this delicious snack: sunflower seeds are really good for you! We list some of the benefits of sunflower seeds below.
Heart
Because these little seeds are full of unsaturated fats, they are great for your heart health. Sunflower seeds lower your cholesterol and with that the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Unsaturated fats are so-called ‘heart-healthy fats’ and that means that adding some sunflower seeds to your diet, could do wonders for your heart health.
Anti-inflammatory
There are some diseases that are caused by chronic inflammation. Some examples are cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases and more. Because anti-inflammatory foods might help fight chronic inflammation, this means that eating anti-inflammatory foods could play a big part in keeping those diseases at bay. And one of the foods that is anti-inflammatory, is the sunflower seed. So add some of those to your diet to reduce the risk of getting sick!
Pregnancy
When you’re pregnant, there are a lot of things you can’t eat anymore. But luckily, the sunflower seed is not on that list. And it might even be good for you and your baby! If you’re trying to get pregnant or if you’re already expecting, sunflower seeds are rich in zinc, folate and vitamin E. And those are very important nutrients when it comes to pregnancy. Zinc helps in the production of insulin and enzymes, vitamin E helps your fetus develop and folate can help support the placenta. So you won’t just be enjoying the benefits by yourself, but sharing it with your unborn baby.
Preventing sickness
Zinc isn’t just important when you’re (trying to get) pregnant. According to research, zinc is also very important for your immune system. It helps to create and strengthen your immune cells and with that, helps prevent sickness. Selenium, another mineral in sunflower seeds, can help fight infections and gives your immune system a boost too.
This proves that sunflower seeds are the perfect snack to add to your daily diet!
