Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
chia seeds
versus
sunflower seeds
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in chia seeds and sunflower seeds:
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in calories. Sunflower seed has 27% more calories than chia seed - sunflower seed has 619 calories per 100 grams and chia seed has 486 calories.
Chia Seeds | Sunflower Seeds | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 13% | 10% |
Carbohydrates | 33% | 12% |
Fat | 54% | 77% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Chia seed is high in carbohydrates and sunflower seed has 51% less carbohydrates than chia seed - sunflower seed has 20.6g of total carbs per 100 grams and chia seed has 42.1g of carbohydrates.
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in dietary fiber. Chia seed has 199% more dietary fiber than sunflower seed - sunflower seed has 11.5g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and chia seed has 34.4g of dietary fiber.
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in protein. Sunflower seed has a little more protein (4%) than chia seed by weight - sunflower seed has 17.2g of protein per 100 grams and chia seed has 16.5g of protein.
Sunflower seed is high in saturated fat and chia seed has 44% less saturated fat than sunflower seed - sunflower seed has 6g of saturated fat per 100 grams and chia seed has 3.3g of saturated fat.
Both chia seeds and sunflower seeds are low in trans fat - chia seed has 0.14g of trans fat per 100 grams and sunflower seed does not contain significant amounts.
Sunflower seeds and chia seeds contain similar amounts of Vitamin C - sunflower seed has 1.4mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and chia seed has 1.6mg of Vitamin C.
Chia seed has more Vitamin A than sunflower seed - chia seed has 16.2ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and sunflower seed does not contain significant amounts.
Chia seed has more Vitamin E than sunflower seed - chia seed has 0.5mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and sunflower seed does not contain significant amounts.
Chia seed has more niacin, however, sunflower seed contains more pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and folate. Both chia seeds and sunflower seeds contain significant amounts of thiamin and riboflavin.
Chia Seeds | Sunflower Seeds | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.62 MG | 0.325 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.17 MG | 0.285 MG |
Niacin | 8.83 MG | 4.198 MG |
Pantothenic acid | ~ | 7.056 MG |
Vitamin B6 | ~ | 0.805 MG |
Folate | 49 UG | 238 UG |
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in calcium. Chia seed has 10 times more calcium than sunflower seed - sunflower seed has 57mg of calcium per 100 grams and chia seed has 631mg of calcium.
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in iron. Chia seed has 13% more iron than sunflower seed - sunflower seed has 6.8mg of iron per 100 grams and chia seed has 7.7mg of iron.
Both sunflower seeds and chia seeds are high in potassium. Sunflower seed has 21% more potassium than chia seed - sunflower seed has 491mg of potassium per 100 grams and chia seed has 407mg of potassium.
For omega-3 fatty acids, chia seed has more alpha linoleic acid (ALA) than sunflower seed per 100 grams.
Chia Seeds | Sunflower Seeds | |
---|---|---|
alpha linoleic acid | 17.83 G | 0.079 G |
Total | 17.83 G | 0.079 G |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, sunflower seed has more linoleic acid than chia seed per 100 grams.
Chia Seeds | Sunflower Seeds | |
---|---|---|
other omega 6 | 0.093 G | ~ |
linoleic acid | 5.835 G | 37.39 G |
Total | 5.928 G | 37.39 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Chia Seeds (Seeds, chia seeds, dried) and Sunflower Seeds (Seeds, sunflower seed kernels, toasted, without salt) .
Chia Seeds g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Sunflower Seeds g
()
|
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||