Sunflower seeds

We used to call sunflower seeds just seeds. The birthplace of this most popular product is North America. Thanks to archaeological research, it became known that this plant was domesticated about 5 thousand years ago in the indicated territory. In Europe, sunflower seeds appeared around the 16th century, at that time they were called "sun grass. " At first, sunflower was grown exclusively as an ornamental plant, and by 1716 people had learned to use it as a source of oil. Today, sunflowers are grown almost all over the world.

Sunflower seeds are very often used in cooking. They are added to various types of pastries, and sometimes to the main dishes. This product is very popular, in most cases it is consumed independently, most often with various drinks, such as beer. Sunflower seeds are most often eaten fried, but sometimes also in cheese. Eating seeds has become a kind of entertainment, from which it is quite difficult to break away until stocks run out. Perhaps this popularity and spread around the world is due to the rather unusual belief that seeds help in getting rid of tobacco addiction.

Benefits of sunflower seeds

Despite the fact that their size is quite small, the benefits of sunflower seeds are quite noticeable. The benefits of sunflower seeds have been known for a long time, they were often used as a plant medicine for various diseases. The beneficial properties of sunflower seeds are due to the content of a large amount of various minerals, vitamins, as well as many other nutrients. Sunflower seeds added to baking not only give interesting taste qualities to the dish, but also significantly increase the level of benefits for the body. In many countries of the world, sunflower seeds, like linseed, are simply added to dishes, for example, in rice, only for the benefit of the body.

The beneficial properties of sunflower seeds are also associated with the content of vitamin E, which is one of the most powerful antioxidants, it helps to improve the mucous membranes and skin, has a protective effect against damage, which is often caused by free radicals. Sunflower seeds are one of those products, when consumed, the level of cholesterol in the blood does not increase, but decreases, this effect is very valuable for the human body. The calorie content of sunflower seeds is high, in 100 grams about 601 kcal, so it is better to eat in small quantities.

Damage to sunflower seeds

The harm of sunflower seeds, as mentioned above, lies in its calorie content, so abuse can lead to excess weight gain. Salted sunflower seeds contain a lot of sodium, which can increase blood pressure and even develop heart disease.