Ingredient Deep Dive: High Oleic Sunflower Oil

January 03, 2023

Ingredient deep dive: high oleic sunflower oil

Tally Kids provides healthy monounsaturated fats from High Oleic Sunflower Oil to deliver the fat content for Tally Kids.

What Is Sunflower Oil?

Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil pressed from the seeds of the sunflower.

Sunflower oil is primarily composed of linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fat, and oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat.

High Oleic Sunflower oil is the healthiest vegetable oil because it is free of cholesterol, sodium, and carbohydrates. It is also rich in oleic acid and contains high levels of monounsaturated fat and low amounts of polyunsaturated fat.

Sunflower oil comes in three types which are very different in health properties (regular or linoleic sunflower oil, mid oleic sunflower oil and high oleic acid sunflower oil).

The sunflower oil we selected for Tally Kids is a high oleic sunflower oil (HO sunflower oil). This is the best type of sunflower oil and very healthy.

HO sunflower oil is very low in omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid) and very high in monounsaturated fats (MUFA) – these are the same fats found in olive oil.

HO sunflower oil is not at all similar to regular sunflower oil. See chart below from https://www.comills.com/sunflower-oil/oil-information/

Note that HO sunflower oil contains 82% monounsaturated fatty acids which is higher than olive oil (72% MUFAs). This is the reverse of regular sunflower oil which only contains 19% MUFAs.

Made from pressing the seeds of the sunflower plant, the oil is composed of different fatty acid levels. You can buy sunflower oil containing 82% oleic acid (high oleic) or 65% oleic acid (mid-oleic). Tally Kids uses High Oleic Sunflower Oil.

Your body uses oleic acid as fuel to help strengthen cells and tissues.

Tally Kids uses < 1/3 ounce of High Oleic Sunflower Oil per 8oz.

13 Sunflower Oil Benefits For Kids

Link to Parenting Healthy Babies Article (2017)

The health benefits of sunflower oil in your child’s diet include protection from asthma, control of cholesterol levels, digestion improvement, strengthening of the immune system, acne cure, prevent anemia, to name a few.

Sunflower oil is a stable oil that is extracted from the flower. The oil is made by pressing sunflower seeds, giving out a stable oil used in cosmetics, medicines and cooking.

It has a high content of fatty acids, including stearic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid. These fatty acids are extremely important to us for our overall good health. Source: parentinghealthybabies.com

Sunflower Oil Production

In 2018, Ukraine and Russia together accounted for 53% of global production of sunflower oil. Annual global production of Sunflower Oil has doubled since 1995; an increase of 12 million tons per year.

Source: Food and Agriculture Association of the United Nations)

High Oleic Sunflower Oil

High Oleic Sunflower Oil by the Numbers

82% oleic acid (monounsaturated fatty acid)

9% linoleic acid (omega-6 PUFA).

14 g total fat

1.4 g saturated fat

11.7 g monounsaturated fat

0.5 g polyunsaturated fat.

https://bienasnacks.com/

Sunflower Oil 101

By Stephanie Eckelkamp

Link to Stephanie's Article at MindBodyGreen Food

Tally Kids Commentary by Kyle Watts

Stephanie: 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:

High Oleic Sunflower Oil: Contains about 82% oleic acid (MUFA) and 9% linoleic acid (omega-6 PUFA). Tally Kids uses High Oleic Sunflower Oil.
Mid Oleic Sunflower Oil: Contains about 65% oleic acid (MUFA) and 26% linoleic acid (omega-6 PUFA).
High Linoleic Sunflower Oil: Contains about 30% oleic acid (MUFA) and 60% linoleic acid (omega-6 PUFA).

Stephanie: Why does the fatty acid profile matter? MUFAs are much more chemically stable fats compared to PUFAs—so the proportion of these fats present in a sunflower oil will affect its stability, or ability to resist oxidative damage during refining and cooking. Oil that experiences significant oxidative damage accumulates a variety of unhealthy compounds that, in turn, drive unhealthy processes such as oxidative stress and inflammation, according to physician Cate Shanahan, M.D., a respected authority on vegetable and seed oils and author of The Fatburn Fix. This is why Tally Kids uses High Oleic Sunflower Oil.

Stephanie: 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. Good, because that’s what we use in Tally Kids, High-Oleic Sunflower Oil.

Stephanie: Several studies have found that consuming monounsaturated fats such as oleic acid may help optimize cholesterol levels. In one study, 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 study 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 claim 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. Good to know.

So that's a wrap on High Oleic Sunflower Oil!

In Summary:

Sunflower oil contains linoleic fatty acids which are important for young kids and extremely important for overall good health. High oleic sunflower oil has more monounsaturated fats compared to most other vegetable oils. It’s also a stable oil that is extracted from the flower simply made by pressing seeds. 13 Must Know Health Benefits of Sunflower Oil in Your's Baby's Diet (parentinghealthybabies.com)

Seed oils containing high amounts of oleic acid, also referred to as high oleic (HO) oils, are gaining attention because of their desirable fatty acid composition that provides higher oxidative and thermal stability and healthier nutritional profile. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) nutritional guidelines recommend high amount of oleic acid intake for a healthy diet. These oils make excellent ingredients for food formulation, particularly for industrial frying applications, because they are both stable and have a healthy nutritional profile.

From Dr. Susan Marie Fluegel: For more info about high oleic sunflower oil see this article from Oklahoma State University.

For further questions about High Oleic Sunflower Oil please e-mail info@drinktally.com