But how healthy is sunflower oil, and does it deserve a spot in your pantry? Turns out, it’s not a simple yes or no. Sunflower oil is available in a variety of forms—with different fatty acid profiles and levels of refinement—and these come with different benefits and drawbacks. Here’s everything you need to know to make an informed choice. There are three main types of sunflower oil available for home cooking that contain varying proportions of oleic acid (a type of monounsaturated fatty acid, or MUFA) and linoleic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, or PUFA). Sunflower oil isn’t always clearly labeled using the terms below, but you can look at the nutrition facts panel to see a breakdown of each fat. All nutritional labels are required to have saturated fats included, but it’s up to individual brands whether they disclose the rest of the fatty acid profile: Aside from its fatty acid profile, sunflower oil’s level of refinement can differ, too. While unrefined varieties are made by pressing sunflower seeds to extract the oil then gently separating (or lightly filtering) out the solids from the liquid oil without the use of chemicals or heat, others are highly refined and require the use of chemical solvents to draw the oil from the seeds along with high heat and pressure to eliminate impurities that may contribute to unwanted flavors or a lower smoke point. This refinement can cause some oxidative damage to fat molecules, per Shanahan, not to mention a reduction in beneficial phytochemicals3 and nutrients4. The chemical and nutritional makeup of sunflower oil varies based on the refinement process. Unless specified, much of the sunflower oil sold and used in packaged goods is both highly refined and of the high-linoleic5 (i.e., high-PUFA) variety—which isn’t as ideal as the nutritional profile as the high oleic sunflower oil variety. “In mbg’s ultimate multivitamin+, we chose to leverage the amazing sunflower, specifically the native oil of the sunflower seeds, to source our vitamin E in its most bioavailable and bioactive form, d-alpha-tocopherol,” says Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, mbg’s vice president of scientific affairs. “While there are other high-quality plant oil sources of vitamin E, we wanted to elevate and celebrate as many premium botanicals in this plant-centric vegan multi as possible.” Sunflower oil is also touted as a heart-healthy oil due to its low levels of saturated fats and high levels of unsaturated fats. However, research suggests this may only be true for high-oleic sunflower oil, as opposed to mid-oleic and high-linoleic varieties. “Oleic acid is a famously heart-healthy constituent of a Mediterranean dietary pattern and lifestyle,” says Ferira. Several studies have found that consuming monounsaturated fats such as oleic acid may help optimize cholesterol levels. In one study8, people with elevated blood lipids who added high-oleic sunflower oil to their diet for eight weeks experienced an elevation in HDL (“good”) cholesterol, while another study9 found that people who added high-oleic sunflower oil to their diet for 10 weeks had lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides than people eating a comparable amount of saturated fat. Findings like this have prompted the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a qualified health claim10 that consuming 1.5 tablespoons of oleic-acid-rich oils per day in place of saturated fats may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. You can also use sunflower oil topically—and you may see it as an ingredient on your body or facial oil. For this purpose, you may actually want to use a high-linoleic variety of sunflower oil, which may help11 improve hydration and skin barrier integrity better than several other oils, including olive oil. Sunflower oil may also help rebalance acne-prone skin, as research suggests12 people with acne tend to produce sebum with diminished linoleic acid content. There is a lot of nuance with sunflower oil—“depending on how it’s processed and its fatty acid profile, it can be extremely unhealthy and contribute to significant metabolic dysfunction,” says Shanahan. As mentioned above, you really want to avoid refined sunflower oil varieties that are also high in linoleic acid, an omega-6 PUFA that is quite unstable. There’s nothing inherently wrong with omega-6 PUFAs, but the damage that occurs to these fats when exposed to high temperatures during refining, and then again during cooking, can be a problem. “When these unstable PUFAs encounter the high heat, they oxidize and break down chemically to produce dangerous new molecules such as aldehydes, 4-hydroxynonenal, cyclic amines, toxic alcohols, and toxic ketones,” says Shanahan. When linoleic acid is consumed in excess13 from all sources (sunflower and other seed oils and processed foods) especially in the absence of ant-inflammatory fats like omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, it may lead to oxidative stress and other negative health effects. But if heating high-PUFA oils like sunflower oil can create a rather undesirable cocktail of compounds, you may be wondering why it’s marketed as having a high smoke point. Contrary to popular belief, an oil’s smoke point doesn’t always guarantee stability under heat. In fact, various studies (like this one) show that after repeated frying sessions, a higher level of harmful byproducts are produced in high-linoleic oils such as sunflower oil (smoke point 450 degrees Fahrenheit) than in high-oleic oils such as olive oil (smoke point 350 to 470 Fahrenheit). If you really want to cook with sunflower oil, high-oleic varieties are a more stable14 choice. Finally, if you eat a lot of PUFA-rich oils such as sunflower oil (and other common vegetable and seed oils), they can end up stored in your body fat. The problem there, explains Shanahan, is that when your body later burns these fats for fuel, they break down—yet again—into the same dangerous compounds mentioned above, further driving inflammation and overall metabolic dysfunction. Keep in mind, you may unintentionally be ingesting these oils when you consume packaged foods—so read those labels and aim to consume more whole foods in general (especially considering processed foods can have other negative impacts on your health). But if you’d like to try sunflower oil, refer to the better-for-you suggestions below, and keep in mind that not all varieties are suitable for all applications. Try this: Kricklewood Farm Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil Try this: Ellyndale Organics High-Oleic Sunflower Oil Try this: Flora Certified Organic Sunflower Oil, Cold-Pressed & Unrefined
