T Nation

Thoughts On Sunbutter (Sunflower Seed Butter)

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

Hey All,

At the grocery store today, I got my hands on a jar of organic sunbutter and was pretty blown away by the label

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Might be hard to read, but it’s 19g of fat, 2g saturated, 4g carbs with 3 of those being fiber and 8g of protein. I’m tracking that as 1 net carb per serving.

Digging further online, I’m seeing some mixed info on the further distribution of fats, but most point to the majority being monounsaturated vs polys.

I’m curious if I’ve stumbled across low carb gold here. I have zero knowledge about seed nutrition, having focused primarily on nuts and avocados as fat sources. I’ve done a little digging, and of course everywhere says this stuff is the cat’s pajamas, but curious if anyone is a regular consumer of this stuff OR if anyone has done any research to dissuade me from making this a regularly consumed product. Presently, I eat a LOT of peanut and almond butter, and wouldn’t mind adding this to the rotation.

#2

I’m not sure about fat distribution, but sunflower seed butter is delicious

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#3

It is weird, when researching the best seeds/nuts sunflower seeds are never recommended because they are high in poly fats (omega-6) however, sunflower seed butter lists monosaturated fats as high.

How can they be different? If fat quality is a concern I would believe the natural fat ratios and limit it due to the high omega 6 fat content.

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#4

Maybe @mertdawg would know. I seem to recall a recommendation at some point, from @mertdawg, about limiting nut intake to 25-30g. Not sure if seeds/seed butter should come out of that “budget” as well.

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#5

Appreciate that. Omega 6s were my concern there. I wonder what drives the difference.

#6

Well, for those following along, I found this from the company website

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Now, granted, this is the stuff with the added sugar vs the no-sugar added/organic/etc, but with the discussion being on fats, it looks like 32% are polys, 52% mono and 10% saturated.

I had some today, and it’s delicious. I’m upset I haven’t had this earlier in my life. I sprang for the stuff that had salt added which, in turn, wasn’t organic. I’ll try the organic stuff when I empty out this jar, but I see this being a solid addition to the nutrition.

#7

There has been a trend to use sunflower seeds with high monounsaturated versus polyunsaturated (high oleic v high linoleic). I thin high oleic sunflower seed oil is probably an OK oil.

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#8

It’s a better choice than peanut butter as it’s not as inflammatory, but similar to organic almond butter (I much prefer the taste of sunflower butter though). Macadamia nut butter is probably the best option from an omega 3/6/9 ratio standpoint, but the price is outrageous. Alas, the unsweetened sunbutter is a good find and very tasty.

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#9

Thanks for that man. I make a point of eating macadamia nuts daily, but haven’t gotten the butter. Absolutely hooked on the sunbutter now though, haha. Actually buying another jar today.

#10

I don’t know about the health benefits, but it tastes really good. My daughter has peanut/nut allergies, so peanut butter’s out. Sunbutter is a great alternative, but quite a bit pricier.

#11

I make my own with a food processor. It’s very easy and is MUCH cheaper than the stuff on the shelf.

#12

I am very tempted to turn mum’s bag of pistachios into pistachio butter

#13

Pistachio butter is awesome!

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#14

I use this on keto cheat days I eat a whole jar it’s fucking incredible

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#15

I gotta ask the obvious: any impact on digestion when you do that? That said, I’m shocked this isn’t more popular in the keto community. It’s like 0 carb. makes total sense.

#16

One of these days, I’m going to cave, buy a small jar of expensive af nut butter from the farmers market and eat the whole thing

#17

None. I usually take an ox bile supplement anyways though and it helps with me digesting fat.
1-2 servings of peanut butter causes bloating/Acid reflux but sunflower butter entire jar and no issues.

Great source for a cheat day: low carb and 2000 calories

Just costs $8 lmao

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#18

Lol I bet the homemade ones are even better!

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#19

You do raise a good point that I hadn’t even observed until now: I tend to digest the sunbutter better. Very interesting. Appreciate the top on the ox bile supplement as well.

And I’ve definitely spent $8 on worse, haha. Paging Carl’s Jr…

#20

This is absolute bliss.

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