Power Food

A Snack You Crack

The tasty little sunflower seed is good for your heart, your energy level and your immune system. It’s worth the work of opening the hull.

Sunflower seeds are harvested from the large head of the mature sunflower plant (Helianthus annuus). And let’s get straight right away that the flat, bean-like, black-and-white-striped thing with the tough outer hull is not the seed itself. (Botanically, that’s called a cypsela.) Instead, the seed (or kernel) is that nutty-tasting little treasure you get when you crack the striped hull open. Like the pistachio, it requires a bit of work to yield its reward. Now here’s the question: Are you the type to gobble as you crack, or do you patiently open a whole pileful and then go for a splurge of pleasure?

Either way, your nibbling is part of a long history. One of the few crops with North American origins, sunflowers were first domesticated by indigenous tribes thousands of years ago. Seeds can be pressed to yield a highly prized, lightcolored oil high in unsaturated fatty acids. It has been used as a preservative, a textile decoration, a hair dye, a topical remedy for rough skin or slowhealing wounds, a treatment for constipation and high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol—and a cooking oil.

POWER UP

Nutritionally, fiber-rich sunflower seeds beat the pants off many snack alternatives. They abound in healthy fats and in protein, which helps boost energy levels. (So do their generous quantities of vitamin B1 and selenium.) They contain zinc, which helps the immune system fight off viruses. And thanks to their vitamin E, flavonoids and plant compounds, the seeds are also fighters of inflammation, believed these days to be a key factor in many ills, including heart disease and cancer. Indeed, studies have linked high sunflowerseed consumption to a reduced risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

The numbers? A 100gram (3.5-ounce) serving of dried sunflower-seed kernels supplies 234 percent of your daily vitamin E need, 129 percent of your requirement for B1 (thiamine) and 103 percent of your B6 (which helps build brain and nerve cells)—along with nearly 100 percent of your magnesium, manganese and phosphorus. Compare that to a happily trifling 1 percent of your sodium, which we tend to overconsume. (However, sunflower seeds are often sold with shells coated in salt—so look for the no-salt version if you’re watching your sodium intake. Also, remember that at more than 200 calories per one-fourth cup this isn’t a low-cal food. So don’t chomp down huge quantities.)

Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute tested a number of common snack-food nuts and seeds for levels of phytosterols, plant chemicals that can improve heart health and cholesterol levels. The champs, they found, were pistachios and sunflower seeds—those kindred goodies that are so worth the necessary cracking.

BUY/STORE/SERVE

If you’re a nut for the raw nature of the seed, go to a source where sunflowers are cultivated or try growing your own. For a dash of practicality, you can try farmers’ markets, grocers—even a gas station or two may have some packaged seeds. They’re usually sold with the hull still on, but you can buy them hulled.

Keep quantity in mind when thinking of quality. A moderate amount of seeds will keep at room temperature for a couple of months—longer if you seal them in airtight containers. For larger quantities, opt for tight containment with refrigeration. Anything longer than a year won’t be worth it, so don’t throw your seed parties too far in advance. Use common sense and avoid seeds with a smell or noticeable mold.

Most consumers just opt for cracking the hulls open and eating the kernels. No frills, just straight to the source. But as with any ingredient there are different ways to cook or shake it up. Roasting sunflower seeds is an option. Add them (hulled) to a salad or a yogurt for that pleasing crunch. Add some texture to that trail mix or fiber to those muffins. Check online to use them in recipes for tofu burgers or South American arepas. And don’t forget about the oil extracted from sunflower seeds that can be used in preparing a variety of foods.

DID YOU KNOW? The two top producers of sunflower seeds, which together account for more than half of world consumption, are Russia and Ukraine.