Foodstruct Nutrition Search | Diet Analysis | Food Comparison | Glycemic Index Chart | Insulin Index Chart | Blog | Subscribe | Sign Up

Flax seeds vs. Sunflower seeds — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

Compare

What are the main differences between flax seeds and sunflower seeds?

  • Flax seeds are richer in fiber, manganese, calcium, and magnesium, yet sunflower seeds are richer in vitamin E, vitamin B6, copper, selenium, folate, and vitamin B3.
  • Sunflower seeds' daily need coverage for vitamin E is 232% higher.
  • Flax seeds have 3 times more calcium than sunflower seeds. Flax seeds have 255mg of calcium, while sunflower seeds have 78mg.

We used Seeds, flaxseed and Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, dried types in this comparison.

Infographic

Flax seeds vs Sunflower seeds infographic
Infographic link

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 280% 77% 72% 215% 407% 118% 275% 3.9% 324% 139%
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 232% 23% 57% 197% 600% 136% 283% 1.2% 254% 289%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +20.6%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +226.9%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +26%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +27.3%
Contains more CopperCopper +47.5%
Contains more ZincZinc +15.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium -70%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium +108.7%
~equal in Iron ~5.25mg
~equal in Phosphorus ~660mg

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 2% 0% 6.2% 0% 411% 37% 58% 59% 109% 0% 11% 65% 43%
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate Choline Choline 4.7% 1% 703% 0% 370% 82% 156% 68% 310% 0% 0% 170% 30%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K +∞%
Contains more CholineCholine +42.8%
Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C +133.3%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A +∞%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +11245.2%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2 +120.5%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +170.6%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5 +14.7%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6 +184.4%
Contains more FolateFolate +160.9%
~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin B1 ~1.48mg
~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Flax seeds Sunflower seeds DV% diff.
Vitamin E 0.31mg 35.17mg 232%
Fiber 27.3g 8.6g 75%
Vitamin B6 0.473mg 1.345mg 67%
Copper 1.22mg 1.8mg 64%
Selenium 25.4µg 53µg 50%
Polyunsaturated fat 28.73g 23.137g 37%
Folate 87µg 227µg 35%
Vitamin B3 3.08mg 8.335mg 33%
Monounsaturated fat 7.527g 18.528g 28%
Manganese 2.482mg 1.95mg 23%
Calcium 255mg 78mg 18%
Magnesium 392mg 325mg 16%
Vitamin B2 0.161mg 0.355mg 15%
Fats 42.16g 51.46g 14%
Vitamin B1 1.644mg 1.48mg 14%
Zinc 4.34mg 5mg 6%
Iron 5.73mg 5.25mg 6%
Potassium 813mg 645mg 5%
Protein 18.29g 20.78g 5%
Choline 78.7mg 55.1mg 4%
Vitamin K 4.3µg 0µg 4%
Saturated fat 3.663g 4.455g 4%
Calories 534kcal 584kcal 3%
Vitamin B5 0.985mg 1.13mg 3%
Phosphorus 642mg 660mg 3%
Carbs 28.88g 20g 3%
Sodium 30mg 9mg 1%
Vitamin C 0.6mg 1.4mg 1%
Net carbs 1.58g 11.4g N/A
Sugar 1.55g 2.62g N/A
Vitamin A 0µg 3µg 0%
Tryptophan 0.297mg 0.348mg 0%
Threonine 0.766mg 0.928mg 0%
Isoleucine 0.896mg 1.139mg 0%
Leucine 1.235mg 1.659mg 0%
Lysine 0.862mg 0.937mg 0%
Methionine 0.37mg 0.494mg 0%
Phenylalanine 0.957mg 1.169mg 0%
Valine 1.072mg 1.315mg 0%
Histidine 0.472mg 0.632mg 0%
Omega-3 - EPA 0g 0.014g N/A
Omega-6 - Eicosadienoic acid 0.007g 0g N/A

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
18% 42% 29% 7% 4%
Protein: 18.29 g
Fats: 42.16 g
Carbs: 28.88 g
Water: 6.96 g
Other: 3.71 g
21% 51% 20% 5% 3%
Protein: 20.78 g
Fats: 51.46 g
Carbs: 20 g
Water: 4.73 g
Other: 3.03 g
Contains more CarbsCarbs +44.4%
Contains more WaterWater +47.1%
Contains more OtherOther +22.4%
Contains more ProteinProtein +13.6%
Contains more FatsFats +22.1%

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
9% 19% 72%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 3.663 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 7.527 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 28.73 g
10% 40% 50%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 4.455 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 18.528 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 23.137 g
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -17.8%
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +24.2%
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +146.2%

Carbohydrate type comparison

Carbohydrate type breakdown side-by-side comparison
74% 26%
Starch: 0 g
Sucrose: 1.15 g
Glucose: 0.4 g
Fructose: 0 g
Lactose: 0 g
Maltose: 0 g
Galactose: 0 g
100%
Starch: 0 g
Sucrose: 2.5 g
Glucose: 0 g
Fructose: 0 g
Lactose: 0 g
Maltose: 0 g
Galactose: 0 g
Contains more GlucoseGlucose +∞%
Contains more SucroseSucrose +117.4%
~equal in Starch ~0g
~equal in Fructose ~0g
~equal in Lactose ~0g
~equal in Maltose ~0g
~equal in Galactose ~0g

People also compare

References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Flax seeds - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/169414/nutrients
  2. Sunflower seeds - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170562/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.