Benefits Of Sunflower Butter And Side Effects
Discover the 5 shocking health benefits of sunflower seed butter and side effects.
Remember when the only option you had to pair your jelly sandwiches with was peanut butter?
Those days are long gone, with countless varieties of nut and seed butter, such as almond and cashew butter, but never before have there been more options to enjoy your toasted foods or dip your rich apples For example, have you ever hated talking about the benefits of sunflower seed butter?
Although you may be familiar with sunflower seeds as a road trip snack, there is a new way to use them that is catching on.
You can transform those plain old seeds into a delicious, healthy variety packed with flavor.
Like most nuts and seeds, it is packed with nutritional benefits and mostly healthy fats, although it is important to note that it is relatively high in omega-6 fats, which can unleash its crucial ratio of omega-3 fats to omega-6.
But as long as you continue to eat omega-3 foods and keep your sunflower seed butter consumption low, it can be a good alternative for everyone with a nut or peanut allergy .
Plus, sunflower seeds are pretty cheap too, so making them into a spread is an affordable and healthier option that you can make at home.
Unorthodox Allergy Tests Are Unproven
There are several methods of unorthodox tests for food allergy. Examples include cytotoxic food testing, Vega testing, kinesiology, allergy elimination techniques, iridology, pulse testing, Alcat testing, Rinkel’s intradermal skin testing, reflexology, hair analysis and IgG food antibody testing. These tests have no scientific basis, are unreliable and can’t be reproduced. ASCIA advises against the use of these tests. No Medicare rebate is available in Australia for these tests, and their use is not supported in New Zealand.
Adverse consequences may arise from unorthodox testing and treatments. Treatment based on inaccurate, false positive or clinically irrelevant results can lead to ineffective and expensive treatments, and delay more effective therapy. Sometimes harmful therapy may result, such as unnecessary dietary avoidance and risk of malnutrition, particularly in children.
Gluten Free Version Regardless Of Peanut Allergy
The next batch I tried was using the recipe outlined below exactly as its written but replacing regular, whole grain flour with Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour. This is my favorite gluten free flour of the ones Ive tried.
I have another brand that I got at Costco and its almost the same ingredient list as Bobs. However, this other brand includes arrowroot powder as a binding agent since gluten free dough needs help sticking together.
Now, I know whole foodies go ga-ga over arrowroot powder but I cant stand the stuff. Its bitter and slimy when used in place of corn starch as a thickener. Bobs uses potato starch, along with a few other things, in their gluten free flour mix.
Non-GMO Corn Starch
In the FAQ section of their website, Bobs answers the question Are your products genetically modified?:
No. All of our products originate from identity-preserved, non-GMO seeds.
Im not sure if that means seed potato as well , but I sent them an email to ask and Ill update this post when I know for sure.
UPDATE!
Here was Bobs Red Mills response to my email and I think its super, extra-crispy, uber cool:
Gluten Free Sunbutter Cookie Recipe
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What Is Sunflower Seed Butter
It wasnt that long ago I hadnt heard of sunflower seed butter , but its a great spread that should be talked about more often.
So, what is it?
Sunflower seed butter is a paste made from sunflower seeds. In its purest form, its made only with roasted sunflower seeds which are ground until they form a paste to a similar consistency to peanut butter.
Commercial sunflower seed butter can have other ingredients as well such as sugar and salt. Sunflower oil is often added to help create a smoother, more spreadable texture to make it more like peanut butter.
Other Peanut Butter Substitutes
While peanut butter and sunflower butter are amazingly nutritious, sometimes you may not have either on hand. There are some other peanut butter substitutes you can use.
Almond butter is healthier than peanut butter. However, it should only be used by people who aren’t allergic to tree nuts. If you do have a nut allergy, you can also use soy butter and pea butter.
Soy butter is made of toasted soybeans. Out of all these alternatives, this one tastes the most like peanut butter! Pea butter is gluten-free and made of brown peas.
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Sunflower Seed Butter: The Peanut Butter Alternative With More Benefits
Remember when the only option you had to pair your jelly sandwiches with was peanut butter? Those days are long gone. With countless varieties of nut and seed butters, like almond and cashew, on the scene, there have never been more options to slather on toast or dip apples in. But have you heard about sunflower seed butter?
Although you might be familiar with sunflower seeds as a road trip snack, theres a new way to use them thats catching on. You can transform those plain old seeds into a yummy, healthy spread thats packed with flavor.
Like most nuts and seeds, its packed with nutritional benefits and mostly healthy fats, though its important to keep in mind that its relatively high in omega-6 fats, which can throw off your crucial omega-3 to omega-6 fats ratio.
But as long as you continue to consume omega-3 foods and keep your consumption of sunflower butter low, it can be a good alternative for anyone with a nut or peanut allergy . Also, sunflower seeds are also fairly inexpensive, so whipping them up into a spread is an affordable and healthier option you can do at home.
Is Sunbutter Good For You
Based on the health benefits of sunflower seeds, I’d say this has got to be an overall “yes.”
Like peanuts, sunflower seeds are high in “good fat” that can help ward off heart disease. They’re rich in phytosterols, believed to reduce blood cholesterol. They provide magnesium for healthy bones, plus plenty of antioxidant power in the form of vitamin E.
But how does SunButter, specifically, stack up nutritionally against its more traditional cousin? Checking the labels, I see virtually equal amounts of fat and cholesterol . They have identical, reassuringly low sugar counts . The Skippy Natural peanut butter has a bit more sodium: 150mg, compared to only 99 for the SunButter. But they both have 7g of proteina key figure when your kids are near-vegetarians like mine, or if you are on a high-protein diet.
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Natural Sunflower Butter Yellow Cap
The SunButter with the yellow cap and label is the Natural Sunflower Butter. According to SunButters website, this is the fan favorite.
INGREDIENTS: Roasted Sunflower Seed, Sugar, Salt
TASTE TEST RESULTS:My husbands favorite
All of the SunButters have a roasted sunflower seed taste, which is delicious and is the substitute that tastes most like peanut butter, in my opinion. This version is the only SunButter option available in our local Wal-Mart and its definitely sweeter than the others that do not contain sugar. If youre used to creamy peanut butter that contains sugar, this will be the closest nut-free alternative.
WHERE TO BUY
If youre new to Thrive Market, get 25% off your first order! Using this link not only gets you an awesome discount, but it supports the Food Allergy Parents website. Thank you!
What Are The Side Effects Of Sunflower Oil
High oleic sunflower oil is thought to provide some benefits for heart health. However, sunflower oil has been shown to release toxic compounds when heated to higher temperatures over time. Some varieties are also high in omega-6 and may contribute to inflammation in the body when consumed in excess.
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What’s Healthier: Sunflower Butter Or Peanut Butter
While peanut butter is more classic, sunflower seed butter seems to surpass it in nutrition levels. While they contain similar minerals and have similar benefits, SunButter has far more nutrients and far less of the unhealthy fats included in peanut butter.
To top it all off, sunflower seeds are considered healthier than peanuts. As a result, it can be concluded that SunButter is healthier. However, they are both relatively healthy and can be included as part of a healthy diet.
Creamy Sunflower Butter Red Cap
The SunButter with the red cap and label is the Creamy Sunflower Butter.
INGREDIENTS: Roasted Sunflower Seeds, Mono- and Di-glycerides, Sugar, Salt
TASTE TEST RESULTS:Have not tried this one yet
This creamy version of SunButter is the only one with stabilizers as an ingredient to prevent oil separation and extend shelf life. Its also the only one that comes in bulk sizes and on-the-go cups. If youre looking for a sunflower butter thats creamy, has no oil separation, or comes in bulk pails or individual cups, this is the one you want.
WHERE TO BUY
If you dont have an Amazon Prime account, Get a 30-Day Free Trialwith a new email address to get these nut-free spreads and thousands of other goods shipped fast and free.
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Cross Reactivity Is Difficult To Understand And Harder To Predict
Cross reactivity means that a similar protein is present in a range of different foods. If the same protein is present in several foods, then that person may have allergic reactions to any food containing that protein. Examples of cross reactivity include people allergic to similar proteins present in hen and duck eggs cow’s and goat’s milk or cashew and pistachio nuts.
It may be difficult to predict whether a person will be allergic to one unique protein allergen present in one food only, or several similar cross reactive proteins present in multiple foods. Therefore, it is not possible to reliably predict the likelihood of allergy to seed or nut like foods without allergy testing to that particular food.
Sunflower Seed Butter Heath Bar Blondies
Recipe tested by
Makes 24 servings
- 1 ½ cups butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups creamy sunflower seed butter
- 2 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups peanut butter chips
- 4 ½ tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup coarsely chopped chocolate-covered toffee bars
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 12-by-18-inch jellyroll pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sunflower seed butter until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour and beat until well-incorporated.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of pan comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool to room temperature.
Prepare topping: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt peanut butter chips with cream, stirring until smooth. Drizzle peanut butter mixture over cooled blondies and spread until evenly coated. Sprinkle toffee bar pieces and sunflower seeds on top.
Allow to cool to room temperature, or overnight, before cutting and serving.
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Safe For Schools That Restrict Peanuts
SunButter is a school-safe, peanut butter substitute. Its perfect for lunches and snacks where peanuts and peanut butter cant be served. Approximately 2 children in every classroom have a food allergy including peanut allergies, and 60% of schools have some sort of restriction on peanuts. Schools may have peanut free classrooms, peanut free tables, or forbid peanuts in the school altogether.
Is Sunflower An Allergen
4.2/5Allergicsunflowerallergyallergy
Also know, is sunflower lecithin an allergen?
Lecithin is most often extracted from soy or rapeseed, but can also be produced from egg or sunflower seeds. Lecithin may contain remnants of protein from the food it is extracted from. This means that allergic people who are highly sensitive to soy, rape, egg or sunflower seeds might react to lecithin.
Additionally, does sunflower oil have peanuts? Therefore, if a person is allergic to a particular food from which a vegetable oil is obtained , the crude oil should be avoided. Given that the refined oil contains little or no protein, it should be safe for this type of oil to be consumed.
Similarly, it is asked, are sunflower seeds a nut allergy?
It’s a common question and leaves many people with nut allergies wondering if they can enjoy sunflower, poppy, pumpkin, and sesame seeds. The simple answer is that you may be able to eat these seeds because none of them are tree nuts. Each comes from plant families that are not closely related to nut-producing trees.
How common is sunflower allergy?
Introduction. Sunflower seed allergies are rare, and only several cases of patients with symptoms of anaphylactic reactions to ingested sunflower seeds have been heretofore described. Bird breeders are among professions especially predisposed to sunflower allergy.
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Nutritional Benefits You Need To Know About Sunflower Butter
HomeBlogDietary Fats: Nuts, Seeds, OilsNutritional Benefits You Need to Know About Sunflower Butter
Sunflower Butter has become a popular food that is nutritious, convenient, and delicious. It is a safer choice for people with nut allergies and peanut allergy.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mechanism Of Sensitization To Food Allergens
It is postulated that food processing and introduction of food allergens through an impaired skin barrier play an important role in the development of food allergies. Research has suggested that roasting of peanut and emulsification into a butter vehicle may play a role in the documented increase in peanut allergy . It has also been suggested that exposure to topical creams containing peanut proteins through an impaired skin barrier may result in IgE mediated peanut allergy, while early oral exposure is able to promote tolerance . The dry-roasting of peanut – a common practice in Western cultures but not Eastern ones – has been demonstrated to augment peanuts immunogenicity, with cutaneous sensitization provoking further hypersensitivity in the gut on subsequent oral antigen exposure in a mouse model . Consistent with these theories, household peanut consumption is correlated with risk of peanut allergy in children .
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How To Read A Label For Tree Nuts
Always read the entire ingredient label to look for the names of the tree nut you need to avoid. Tree nut ingredients may be within the list of the ingredients. Or tree nuts could be listed in a contains statement beneath the list of ingredients. Examples are “contains walnut” or “contains almond.” This is required by the federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act . Learn more about the U.S. food allergen labeling law.
FALCPA requires that all packaged foods regulated by the FDA must list the common names of tree nuts clearly on the ingredient label if it contains tree nuts. Advisory statements such as may contain hazelnuts or made in a facility with tree nuts are voluntary. Advisory statements are not required by any federal labeling law. Discuss with your doctor if you may eat products with these labels or if you should avoid them.
Did you know that marzipan, mortadella, and mandelonas all contain tree nuts? The FDA food allergen label law requires foods to state if they contain a major allergen such as tree nuts. But, there are many foods and products that are not covered by the law, so it is still important to know how to read a label for tree nut ingredients. Products exempt from plain English labeling rules: Foods that are not regulated by the FDA. Cosmetics and personal care items. Prescription and over-the-counter medications. Toys, crafts, and pet food.
CONTAIN TREE NUTS
COMMON TREE NUT NAMES
Almond
Sunflower Seed Its Products And Allergy
Although uncommon, sunflower seed allergy has been reported as a cause of IgE-mediated food allergic reaction and anaphylaxis . One suspected risk factor for this allergy has been the ownership of household pet birds, ie the handling of birdseed containing sunflower seeds .
Although sunflower oil rarely may cause allergic reactions, it is more commonly tolerated due to extremely low protein content after processing .
Sunflower butter is a product made with roasted sunflower seeds and additional ingredients such as sugars, salts and oils. Large-scale production began after joint efforts between the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture and a private sunflower seed processor at the beginning of the 21st century, with efforts focused on making the spread palatable . The product, known as SunButter, was unveiled in 2002, but became more widely carried by large retailers in 2011 .
The first report of allergic reaction to sunflower seed butter described a confirmed IgE mediated reaction to similar product in Australia . The 5 year old child in this report had egg and peanut allergies, asthma, atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis and was introduced to sunflower butter as an alternative protein source. It was speculated that lesser exposures to sunflower seed, via muesli or granola bars, may have provided the route of sensitization.
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Which Is Better Sunbutter Or Peanut Butter
Sunbutter is a natural spread that contains no added sugar. It is made from sunflower seeds and is free of hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and trans fats. Peanut butter is a delicious spread made from peanuts and salt. Both are great spreads but if you are looking for something healthier, try using sunbutter instead of peanut butter.
Allergenic Properties Of Seeds
Sunflower and other seeds are small embryonic plants encased in seed coats. Common seeds include sesame, poppy, sunflower, mustard, flaxseed and canola . The 2S albumin storage proteins are major allergens found in the seeds of a wide range of mono and di-cotyledonous plants. They function as storage proteins, providing nutrients during germination and to the growing plant. 2S albumins, named as such for their sedimentation coefficient, are found in peanuts, certain tree nuts, and many seeds including that of sunflower .
While they demonstrate a high level of polymorphism, typical characteristics of 2S albumin storage proteins include compact structure, disulfide bonds which confer stability under conditions of heating or pH extremes, and glycosylation, conferring additional stability. These qualities allow for resistance to harsh conditions such as acidic pH and proteolytic digestive enzymes, allowing these allergens to reach the gastrointestinal immune system with intact allergenic epitopes that can elicit IgE responses .
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