Sunflower Seed

There are three types of commonly used sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. These seeds are usually pressed to extract their oil. Striped sunflower seeds are primarily eaten as a snack food; as a result, they may be called confectionery sunflower seeds.

Sunflower is used in multi-grain bread, nutrition bars, barbecue, pickle, hot sauce, bacon, ranch, and nacho cheese and many other products. Eastern European, and Asian countries where they can be bought freshly roasted and are commonly consumed as street food. In Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Romania, roasted ground seeds are used to make a type of halva. Sunflower seeds contain nutrients and plant compounds that help reduce your risk of inflammation, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Sunflowers tend to take up cadmium from the soil and deposit it in their seed. High amout of cadmium in blood may damage the kidneys.