Is Sunflower Oil Healthy? Nutrition Facts, Safety, and What to Eat Instead

March 23, 2023

WRITTEN BY: Corey Nelson

Article at a Glance

• Sunflower oil is cheap, readily available, and has a neutral flavor.
• It's a common cooking oil and ingredient in processed junk foods because of its low cost and availability at scale.
• Sunflower oil and other industrial seed oils are responsible for a massive increase in the intake of omega-6 fats, which are linked with inflammation, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other health issues.

Introduction

Sunflower oil is one of the most common cooking oils and processed food ingredients. And like most seed oils, sunflower oil is high in unstable, inflammatory omega-6 fats. In this guide, you'll learn about the history of sunflower oil, the reasons for its widespread use, the health issues associated with consuming seed oils, and healthier alternatives.

What Is Sunflower Oil?

Sunflower oil is a common, inexpensive cooking oil and processed food ingredient made from the seeds of the common sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Home cooks and restaurants often use sunflower oil for sauteing and frying because of its low cost, easy availability, and relatively neutral flavor. It's also used in packaged snack foods and premade meals because fats raise the palatability of foods like potato chips, activating brain reward centers and increasing snack consumption [1].

Sunflowers grown for sunflower oil extraction are a major global food crop, accounting for over 20% of vegetable oils produced worldwide today [2].

How Is Sunflower Oil Made?

In the past, as early as 1590, Indigenous people of the Americas and others made sunflower oil in small batches by grinding and pressing sunflower seeds to extract the oil [3]. This unrefined or virgin form of sunflower oil was used in cooking, as a balm for hair and skin, and as a medicinal ingredient.

The first commercial sunflower oil production occurred in Russia in the early 19th century [4] and set the stage for the widespread consumption of sunflower oil. As production became economically important in Europe and throughout the world in the 19th and 20th centuries, farmers and inventors used selective breeding techniques and technological innovations to increase the oil yield from seeds.

Modern, industrial sunflower oil extraction uses the following steps to extract the maximum amount of oil from seeds [5]:

• Seeds are cleaned, de-hulled, and ground into a coarse meal by machines.
• The sunflower meal is heated and fed into an extremely strong mechanical press to extract as much oil as possible.
• The remaining cake (pressed meal) is treated with a volatile solvent, usually hexane, to dissolve and extract the remaining oil.
• The extracted sunflower oil is refined to remove color, odor, and bitterness.

Is Sunflower Oil a Seed Oil?

Yes, sunflower oil is an industrial seed oil. Like other seed oils, it's a major source of inflammatory omega-6 fats in modern diets. Previously, humans obtained these fatty acids in tiny amounts from whole foods, but omega-6 intake increased 10-fold in the U.S. and elsewhere during the 20th century due to the widespread use of seed oils.

Sunflower Oil Nutrition Facts

According to the USDA, one tablespoon (14 grams) of sunflower oil contains approximately [6]:

• 124 calories (kcal)
• 0 grams of protein
• 14 grams of total fat
• 0 grams of carbs
• 0 grams of fiber
• 6 milligrams of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol).

Sunflower Oil Smoke Point and Heat Stability

The smoke point of refined sunflower oil is approximately 412-450°F [7]. However, a relatively high smoke point doesn't mean an oil is stable when heated; high-omega-6 seed oils are inherently unstable and create harmful oxidation byproducts during high-heat cooking.

Is Sunflower Oil Safe for Frying?

Sunflower seed oil is a poor choice for deep-frying because it's highly unstable when heated. This can lead to the formation of harmful byproducts, especially when reheated multiple times.

Is Sunflower Oil Healthy?

Sunflower oil and other seed oils are very high in omega-6 linoleic acid. While humans require small amounts of this polyunsaturated fat, excessive intakes of linoleic acid from cooking oils and processed foods are linked with health problems [8].

The Takeaway

Sunflower oil is a common cooking oil and processed food ingredient because it's inexpensive and readily available. Unfortunately, it's high in inflammatory omega-6 fats and unstable when heated. Reducing your omega-6 linoleic acid intake by eliminating seed oils is a smart move for better health.