In the article, we talk about sunflower oil, its beneficial properties and contraindications to its use. You will find out if sunflower oil contains cholesterol, and how to use the herbal remedy in cooking, cosmetology and for the treatment of various diseases.

Useful properties of sunflower oil

The beneficial properties of sunflower oil are due to the presence of a large amount of useful trace elements in it.

The product contains the following elements:

• linoleic acid;
• oleic acid;
• arachidic acid;
• myristic acid;
• palmitic acid;
• stearic acid;
• linolenic acid;
• phosphorus;
• tocopherol, incl. and vitamin E.

Sunflower oil contains vitamin D, tannins, carotenoids, vegetable proteins and carbohydrates, waxes, inulin, mucus. It is noteworthy that the chemical composition of the product can vary depending on the region and growing conditions of the plant.

What effect does sunflower oil have on the human body:

• improves the functioning of neurons;
• strengthens vascular walls, prevents atherosclerosis;
• normalizes metabolism, has an antioxidant effect;
• prevents the formation of tumors;
• increases the body's defenses;
• normalizes blood viscosity indicators;
• normalizes hormonal levels;
• improves the condition of the skin and bones.

The benefits and harms of sunflower oil are indicators that depend neither on the composition of the product, but on the correctness of its internal intake and external use.

When using a herbal remedy, observe the prescribed dosages, and before using for medicinal purposes, be sure to consult a doctor.

Does sunflower oil contain cholesterol

Contrary to popular belief that plant foods cannot contain cholesterol, lipophilic alcohol is found in sunflower oil. Cholesterol is found in the cell membranes of all living organisms.

In sunflower oil, the level of organic compounds reaches 14 mg / kg. These indicators are quite small, for example, egg yolk contains 15 g / kg of cholesterol.

BJU and calorie content of sunflower oil

100 g of sunflower oil contains 99.9 g of fat, 0.1 is for proteins and carbohydrates.

The calorie content of 100 g of sunflower oil is 899 kcal.

How sunflower oil is produced

For the production of oil, sunflower seed is used. The seeds are cleaned and the kernels are separated from the husk. Then the kernels are passed through the rollers and a compressed raw material is obtained - mint. It is heat treated in braziers, then the press oil is squeezed out in presses.

The press oil is defended. To obtain the final product, it must undergo an extraction procedure. Organic solvents are added to the oil, the action of which separates the product into an oil solution and a defatted solid residue. The resulting product is sent for cleaning and refining.

Types of sunflower oil

What are the types of oil:

• Unrefined - virgin oil, subjected only to filtration, is most useful, since the maximum amount of trace elements is retained in the product.
• Hydrated - in addition to purification, the product is subjected to hydration, the oil is passed through hot water, as a result of which proteins and mucus precipitate. After cleaning, the product has an unexpressed taste and aroma, a light shade without sediment.
• Neutralized refined - the product is completely purified from impurities and free fatty acids by means of alkalis. Such oil lacks taste and smell, useful components. It is used for frying.
• Refined deodorized - is obtained by filtration and exposure to water vapor under vacuum. The product is odorless and has no characteristic taste, but it has a longer shelf life.
• Refined Frozen - Freezing removes waxes from the oil, which increases the shelf life of the product. After processing, the oil has no taste and smell, as well as no nutrients.

Refined and unrefined oil - which is better

If we talk about the benefits for human health, unrefined oil is better, since all the beneficial substances remain in it. Refined oil does not contain fatty acids, vitamins and other microelements. Its use is advisable for cooking hot meals.

Do not use unrefined oil for frying, stewing, or baking food, as it will foam and smoke when heated. You can use it for dressing salads and already cooked food.

Sunflower oil in cooking

Most often, sunflower oil is used for cooking, due to its availability in our country and its low price compared to olive oil. However, the product should be eaten with caution, if used incorrectly, it can be harmful to health.

For frying, stewing, baking, baking, use refined oil. Heating unrefined at high temperatures promotes the release of ketones and aldehydes. Ketones have a carcinogenic and mutagenic effect, aldehydes accumulate in the body, have a toxic and irritating effect.

Vegetable salads are seasoned with unrefined oil and added to ready-made dishes to flavor them. Choose cold-pressed unrefined oil for maximum trace minerals.

Sunflower oil in cosmetology

The natural remedy is used in cosmetology to improve the condition of the face and body skin and hair. It is most advisable to use sunflower oil for dry and aging skin. It retains moisture in the upper layers of the epidermis, activates the production of collagen and elastin by skin cells. Sunflower oil is also used to restore skin after frostbite, cleanse from impurities.

For the body, the product is used as a healing agent for cracked feet, hands and lips. Used to eliminate irritations and skin rashes. Problem areas are lubricated with oil 2-3 times a day, pre-mixing it with liquid vitamin A.

For hair, sunflower oil is used in masks. It nourishes the scalp and hair roots, strengthens them, makes them silky and prevents frequent hair loss.

How to take sunflower oil

For oral administration, you can use 1-2 tablespoons of sunflower oil per day, including its content in dishes.

For pure use, take 1 tablespoon of the product in the morning on an empty stomach.

For constipation

Sunflower oil helps in treating constipation by softening waste products in the intestines and ensuring their release. For these purposes, use unrefined sunflower oil, take it in the morning for 1 tablespoon.

Also, for the treatment of constipation, oil can be added to cereals and salads.

Sunflower oil sucking

Sucking oil helps to normalize metabolism, enhances immunity, and prevents the development of heart, stomach, and colds. When oil is sucked, beneficial substances are absorbed into the blood vessels of the mouth and enter the bloodstream.

For the procedure, take 1 tablespoon of oil, dissolve for 15-20 minutes, then spit out the product.

Sunflower oil mouthwash

Mouthwash with sunflower oil is used to treat gum and respiratory system diseases. How to take the oil - Put 1 tablespoon of the product in your mouth and rinse for 10 minutes, then spit it out. Repeat the procedure every morning.

How to make sunflower oil at home

To make sunflower oil at home, remove the husk from the seeds. Grind the purified raw materials to a mint state in a blender, coffee grinder or pass through a meat grinder. Pour hot water, the temperature should not exceed 120 degrees.

After that, a soft substance is formed - the pulp. Oil will begin to separate from the pulp. Collect the oil. For cleaning it can be filtered and frozen at minus 15 degrees.

How to store sunflower oil at home

The shelf life of sunflower oil is 1 year in a sealed container from the date of production. Open oil should be stored for 2 months if it is refined, and within 1 month if it is unrefined.

Store the product at temperatures between 5 and 20 degrees in a dry and protected from sunlight. Do not use oil beyond the expiration date.

Vodka with sunflower oil according to Shevchenko's method

Method N.V. Shevchenko suggests using sunflower oil with vodka to treat many diseases, including cancer, stroke, allergies and others.

Recipe according to the Shevchenko method

Ingredients:

1. Sunflower oil - 30 ml.
2. Vodka - 30 ml.

How to cook: Mix the liquids in a glass jar, close the lid and then shake well.

How to use: Take a deep breath and drink the product in one gulp. Take the medicine 3 times a day 10-15 minutes before meals. The duration of the course is 10 days. After therapy, take a break for 5 days, after which you can repeat the treatment.

Note! There is no information on scientific confirmation of the effectiveness of this method. Before taking a folk remedy, be sure to consult a doctor.

Which oil is healthier - olive or sunflower

It is impossible to determine which oil is healthier, since monounsaturated fatty acids prevail in olive oil, and polyunsaturated fatty acids prevail in sunflower oil. Both those and others are irreplaceable for the human body.

There is a high oleic sunflower oil rich in monounsaturated oleic acid, which is why it is called an inexpensive analogue of olive oil.

Contraindications

The main contraindication to the use of the product is an allergic reaction to oil and sunflower seeds.

Oil should be used with caution under the following conditions:

• chronic heart and vascular diseases;
• dysfunction of the biliary tract;
• dysfunction of the gallbladder;
• stones in the gallbladder;
• obesity;
• diabetes.

How to determine the freshness of oil, what should you pay attention to when choosing sunflower oil? In what sunflower oil is it better to fry and cook salads?
When choosing sunflower oil, see the release date, the final date of sale and recommendations for use; "For frying" or "for salads". It is not recommended to fry in unrefined sunflower oil, it loses its useful qualities, vitamins are destroyed and foam strongly.
Give preference to sunflower oil made according to GOST, and not according to TU (technical conditions).
High quality refined and unrefined oil is made in accordance with GOST.
Refined sunflower oil can be stored for no more than 4 months and does not contain foreign substances, in particular antioxidants. Some exporters unreasonably extend the shelf life of sunflower oil using antioxidants. It is worth remembering that the shelf life significantly affects the quality and taste of sunflower oil, the longer the shelf life indicated on the label, the worse the quality of the sunflower oil. Since in plastic bottles, diffusion (albeit slow) of oxygen constantly occurs, which means oxidation.

To determine the freshness of the oil, take a bottle of oil from the shelf and take a closer look, if you see a precipitate on the bottom or the oil is a little cloudy, then it is expired. Also, expired oil tastes bitter, and foam when frying.
Sunflower oil does not tolerate light and air poorly, so it is better to store it in a refrigerator, as the oxidation process in sunflower oil will be slower.
Unrefined sunflower oil can be stored for no more than two months.
Sunflower seeds are pressed more than once, the most valuable sunflower oil is the oil obtained after the first pressing, it contains the greatest amount of vitamins and nutrients. The less the oil has undergone different types of processing, the higher the quality of the sunflower oil. Second-pressed oil is cheaper and is used for the production of refined sunflower oil.
Unrefined sunflower oil has a darker color and a concentrated seed smell. And if the oil has the smell of fried seeds, this suggests that in order to obtain as much oil as possible, manufacturers fry the seeds before pressing. This significantly reduces the quality of sunflower oil, since the high temperature triggers the process of fat oxidation, that is, the emergence of carcinogenic substances and most of the vitamins and nutrients are lost. Therefore, it is better, healthier than unrefined sunflower oil of cold first extraction, that is, the temperature is not more than 90 ° C.
Unrefined oil is added only to salads, seasonings, sauces, side dishes.
Refining and deodorization is the removal of free fatty acids and phospholipids from the oil using chemically active substances, after such processing, the oil almost loses its smell and taste. Therefore, they always counterfeit refined sunflower oil, diluting it with cheaper palm oil. Since the production cost of palm oil is very low, unscrupulous intermediaries take advantage of this by adding cheap palm oil to high-quality oil from European manufacturers. Then they are bottled and sold at kiosks in the market.
The production of fakes is a fairly profitable business and has long been put on stream. There are markets where they sell bottles of any shape and labels for them, here they buy containers for counterfeiting sunflower oil, the owners of market outlets.

Vegetable oils are produced from the seeds of oil crops. Each crop has its own type of oil, for example: sunflower, olive, corn, nut oil, etc.

Let's talk about sunflower oil. Housewives have been conducting discussions on the topic “good sunflower oil” for several years now. Let us and we will try to participate in this issue.

Sunflower oil: a bit of history

You probably already know, even from the name, that sunflower oil is extracted from sunflowers. The historical homeland of this plant is North America, where the Spaniards found it. Well, sunflowers came to Russia from Holland in 1569, thanks to Peter I.

An interesting fact is that none of them extracted oil then, they simply decorated gardens and flower beds with flowers, later they learned to gnaw seeds and only, almost 300 years later, the Russian peasant Daniil Bokarev produced the first sunflower oil (1829).

At the moment, about 50 varieties of sunflowers are grown, some of them are exclusively decorative.

Which sunflower oil is best?

There are two types of sunflower oil:

• refined;
• unrefined.

Perhaps not everyone knows that it is unrefined sunflower oil that is healthier, but you cannot fry on it, since toxic compounds are released at high temperatures. But it is better absorbed by the body and is recommended for the preparation of salads and other "cold" dishes.

You can recognize it by its pungent smell and dark color. In addition, a precipitate forms during long-term storage. You can buy it in local markets from private owners or in villages.

Well, refined sunflower oil can be found in any supermarket. It is bright yellow, odorless and without sediment. As you may have guessed, it is safe to fry and cook on it.

When refining (purifying) oil, sediment, dyes and other substances are removed from it.

Finally, we can say that oil refining is done using various technologies, of which there are many. Sometimes on the labels you can find the inscription "deodorized sunflower oil" - it means that it went through the process of deodorization, during which it lost its taste and smell.

There is also frozen sunflower oil, from which waxes have been removed (it is transparent and does not become cloudy at low temperatures).

So try different manufacturers and read the labels carefully, then you will find the best option for yourself.

The benefits of sunflower oil

Sunflower oil is very beneficial for the human body. It contains vitamins (A, D, E, F), minerals and essential unsaturated fatty acids.

Retinol (vitamin A), also known as the growth vitamin. Its deficiency can provoke blurred vision, dry and flaky skin, brittle hair and nails. In addition, with the help of retinol, you can fight malignant tumors.

Calciferol (vitaminD) very much needed by children for growth and strengthening of bone mass. It also speeds up the metabolism and the functioning of the thyroid gland and intestines. But its lack often causes osteoporosis or rickets.

Tocopherol (vitaminE) improves heart function, protects the molecular structure of the body, from the penetration of radicals. In addition, vitamins E stimulate the work of memory, the nervous system, have a positive effect on the absorption of fats, and are also useful for the reproductive organs. By the way, olive oil contains 10 times less of these vitamins!

Vitamin F is responsible for the firmness and elasticity of the skin, strengthens the immune system, improves blood flow and fights cholesterol.

In addition to the presence of useful components in its composition, sunflower oils are used in medicine in the treatment of various diseases. Let's consider just a few of them:

Burns and cuts. You can use overcooked sunflower oil for household skin injuries. To do this, a piece of bandage is moistened and applied to the damaged area of \u200b\u200bthe skin in the form of a bandage.

Strengthening nails. If you have brittle nails, try sunflower oil baths. To do this, dip your nails in warm oil and keep them there for ten minutes. In three days there should be improvements.

From snoring. Take a tablespoon of sunflower oil before bed. You may need to try different types of oils if your body won't be able to take in some of them!

I almost forgot to mention the benefits of sunflower oil in solving everyday problems. For example, lubricating creaking doors, cleaning stainless steel products (taps), or rubbing leather items (shoes, sofa upholstery, etc.).

Sunflower oil harm

In addition to the benefits, sunflower oil can also harm the body.

First of all, you can bring this harm to yourself if you have not read our article carefully. That is, you will fry in unrefined oil or use refined oil in salads! In the second case, not everything is so scary, you just lose all vitamins, because the refined oil does not contain them!

Further, "overdose" should be avoided! The daily allowance for a person is within three tablespoons. By the way, people often ask how many calories are in sunflower oil? One tablespoon (17 g) contains 152.8 kcal, and a teaspoon (5 g) contains 45 kcal.

And thirdly, it is important to store the oil properly. It is best to keep vegetable oils in a glass container and keep them in a dark place, rather than close to the stove! After opening the bottle, it is recommended to use the oil for a month, and if for some reason did not have time, then keep it in the refrigerator.

Now you have all the basic knowledge about sunflower oil to choose which one is best. We hope that we learned something new from our article. Below we will tell you about olive, flaxseed and corn oil.

A bottle of sunflower oil in the kitchen is like a "little black dress" in a woman's wardrobe: a win-win in almost any situation. You can't fry an egg without oil, a salad without a familiar dressing is likely to lose its taste, and in the case of canning vegetables, sunflower oil is one of the fundamental components. Today, store shelves are overflowing with bottles with different labels: "no preservatives and dyes", "first pressing", "frozen out". What do these words mean and how do you differentiate marketing tools from really important information?

Temperature matters

The first rule for any kitchen - from high to "bachelor" - prescribes to always have two types of sunflower oil on hand: refined and unrefined. They differ from each other in a different degree of product purification. Refined oil is ideal for frying and cooking at high temperatures. It is purified using a variety of technological processes and is neutral in taste and smell. Refined oil does not emit harmful carcinogens, and also does not present unpleasant surprises: it will not smoke and foam when frying. Unrefined oil, in contrast to a more refined product, undergoes only mechanical filtration. This allows you to preserve the smell of seeds and the recognizable "sunny" taste of the oil, therefore unrefined oil is well suited for salads, giving them a special taste and aroma.

Such different labels

The variety of formulations on the sunflower oil label can confuse even the most sophisticated consumer. It's important to differentiate marketing tools from really important product information. So:

You should NOT pay attention:

• "Oil without preservatives and dyes." It is almost impossible to add an artificial color or preservative to the oil, since these components do not mix with the oil. Moreover, oil absolutely does not need preservatives: microbes do not start in it due to the absence of water in the composition.
• "First spin". The unrefined product is always extracted from the seeds using the first pressing, nothing special about that. And refined oil is obtained by the extraction method, that is, the extraction of vegetable oil using chemical methods.
• "Contains vitamin E". Sunflower oil always contains this vitamin, important for maintaining beauty, as well as A, D and F and beneficial trace elements.

It is worth paying attention:

• "Cold pressing". The inscription speaks of a low temperature when oil is released. It is believed that with the cold method, the oil retains all the beneficial substances, vitamins and trace elements, while it has a faint smell, which for many consumers is the determining factor when choosing.
• "Frozen". This label refers to unrefined sunflower oil and indicates the method of preparation of the product. The essence of the method is to slowly cool the oil with very gentle stirring. This practically does not affect the palatability; the characteristic smell of oil and the "greasy" taste are only slightly reduced. At the same time, all vitamins and nutrients remain intact, the oil becomes more transparent, and its shelf life increases.

Even without looking at the labeling, the consumer can draw a conclusion about the properties of refined and unrefined sunflower oil based on several indirect signs. Any buyer will increase their chances of choosing a really high-quality product by following 5 simple rules.

1. Look for oil in dark places. When choosing sunflower oil in a store, you need to pay attention to where it is stored: under the influence of any light, the composition of the oil quickly deteriorates and it loses its beneficial properties. The darker the display case with the oil in the store, the better. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a product from the back row by looking into the depth of the shelf: this way there is a greater chance of getting an “unlit” product.
2. Look carefully at the expiration date. You should always pay attention to the shelf life of products, and in the case of sunflower oil, special attention should be paid to the date of manufacture. The closer the oil is to the expiration date, the higher its peroxide value, which affects the oxidizability of the product. Failure to comply with storage conditions (high temperature in the warehouse or prolonged exposure to light, including under artificial lighting) reduces the shelf life of refined oil in relation to the period declared by the manufacturer. Oil with a high peroxide value quickly loses its freshness and becomes rancid.
3. Pay attention to the purity of the product. Clouded oil is a sign of the spoilage of a refined product; it is better to refuse such a purchase. At the same time, do not be afraid of a small sediment in unrefined oil - these are phospholipids useful for the body, which are contained in all cells and rejuvenate them. They are not produced by the body and must be ingested with food.
4. Rate the color of the product. A good refined oil is more likely to be light in color. One of the quality parameters of a product is determined by its color number. It testifies to the degree of purification of the oil from natural dyes. It is believed that the lighter the refined oil, the more refined it is. It is important to note that unrefined sunflower oil has a darker color, and in this case it becomes difficult to determine the quality of the product by eye.
5. Store the oil properly: At home, store the oil bottle in a cool, dark place (such as a refrigerator). The optimum storage temperature for sunflower oil is from +5 to +20 ° C. Do not forget to look at the shelf life of the product. Unrefined oil has a shelf life of only a few months, and an opened bottle is best consumed within 4-5 weeks. Refined oil is stored for the longest time - up to 18 months.