Once considered little more than bird food, sunflower seeds are now known to be an important source of nutrients such as Vitamin E. They are crunchy, and taste slightly nutty, and are excellent used as 'sprinkles' on salads and curries, or baked in granola or bread.
While sunflower seeds are high in fat - and too many could, eventually, lead to weight gain - they are not usually consumed in vast quantities. Moreover, the fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, thus likely to protect the heart and help in lowering cholesterol.
Sunflower seeds are surprisingly high in protein, too. Just 100g (around 2/3 of an American cup) contains about 21g protein; this is similar to the amount of protein in the same weight of nuts and rather more than would be found in 100g eggs.
Folklore - and some modern research - suggests that sunflower seeds may be of use in helping to overcome allergies, for people wishing to give up smoking, and to ease coughs and colds. As a quick snack, perhaps mixed with dried fruit and nuts, sunflower seeds provide good nutrition and are well worth keeping in the kitchen for baking and sprinkling.
Sunflower seeds are high in B vitamins, selenium, manganese and magnesium as well as containing traces of other vital elements.