Comparing Nutrients in 100 calories Spinach VS Sunflower Seeds

Weight per 100 calories

• Spinach: 435g
• Sunflower Seeds: 17g

Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels have 25.4 times more energy per unit of mass than Raw Spinach, which is very high in comparison to other foods. Spinach having very low energy density.

Which food has more nutrients per 100 calories - Spinach or Sunflower Seeds?

Macros Ratio

	Protein	Fat	Carbs
Spinach	39%	12%	49%
Sunflower Seeds	13%	74%	13%

Macro Nutrients

	Spinach	Sunflower Seeds	Recommended Dietary Allowance
Energy	3.45% 100kcal	3.45% 100kcal	2900kcal per day for Men 19-50 years
Fat	1.75% 1.7g	9.1% 8.8g	97g per day for Men 19-50 years
Saturated Fat	0.86% 0.27g	2.4% 0.76g	32g per day for Men 19-50 years
Omega 3	37.5% 0.6g	0.64% 0.01g	1.6g per day for Men 19-50 years
Omega 6	0.66% 0.11g	23.2% 3.95g	17g per day for Men 19-50 years
Cholesterol	0% 0mg	0% 0mg	290mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Carbohydrate	12% 15.8g	2.63% 3.42g	130g per day for Men 19-50 years
Sugars	2.5% 1.83g	0.62% 0.45g	72.5g per day for Men 19-50 years	Limit added sugars in the diet to less than 10% of total calories [Guidelines 2020]
Fructose	0.9% 0.65g	NA	72.5g per day for Men 19-50 years	≤50g/day or ~10% of energy has no deleterious effect on lipid and glucose control and of ≤100g/day does not influence body weight[PMC2991323]
Glucose	% 0.48g	NA	g per day for Men 19-50 years
Sucrose	% 0.3g	% 0.43g	g per day for Men 19-50 years
Fiber	25% 9.57g	3.88% 1.47g	38g per day for Men 19-50 years
Protein	22.2% 12.4g	6.35% 3.56g	56g per day for Men 19-50 years

Vitamins

	Spinach	Sunflower Seeds	Recommended Dietary Allowance
Vitamin A	227% 2039μg	0.057% 0.51μg	900μg per day for Men 19-50 years	RAE, retinol activity equivalents
Vitamin B1	28.3% 0.34mg	21% 0.25mg	1.2mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Thiamine
Vitamin B2	63.2% 0.82mg	4.68% 0.061mg	1.3mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Riboflavin
Vitamin B3	19.7% 3.15mg	8.92% 1.43mg	16mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Niacin, nicotinic acid, niacinamide
Vitamin B5	5.65% 0.28mg	3.87% 0.19mg	5mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Pantothenic acid
Vitamin B6	65.2% 0.85mg	17.7% 0.23mg	1.3mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Pyridoxine
Vitamin B7	61.6% 18.5μg	NA	30μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Biotin
Vitamin B9	211% 843μg	9.7% 39μg	400μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Folates and Folic Acid
Vitamin B12	0% 0μg	0% 0μg	2.4μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Cobalamin
Vitamin C	136% 122mg	0.27% 0.24mg	90mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Ascorbic acid
Vitamin D	0% 0IU	0% 0IU	600IU per day for Men 19-50 years	Calciferol, cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol
Vitamin E	59% 8.83mg	40% 6.02mg	15mg per day for Men 19-50 years	Tocopherols and Tocotrienols
Vitamin K	1750% 2100μg	0% 0μg	120μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Phytomenadione or phylloquinone

Minerals

	Spinach	Sunflower Seeds	Recommended Dietary Allowance
Calcium	43% 430mg	1.34% 13.4mg	1000mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Copper	63% 0.57mg	34.2% 0.31mg	0.9mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Fluoride	NA	NA	4000μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Fluoride is a mineral that helps prevent tooth decay and helps keep your bones strong. [RDA]
Iron	147% 11.8mg	11.2% 0.9mg	8mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Magnesium	81.8% 343mg	13.3% 55.7mg	420mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Manganese	170% 3.9mg	14.5% 0.33mg	2.3mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Molybdenum	NA	NA	45μg per day for Men 19-50 years	Molybdenum is an essential trace element that is naturally present in many foods [RDA]
Phosphorus	30.4% 213mg	16% 113mg	700mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Potassium	71.4% 2426mg	3.25% 110mg	3400mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Selenium	7.9% 4.35μg	16.5% 9.08μg	55μg per day for Men 19-50 years
Sodium	23% 343mg	0.1% 1.54mg	1500mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Zinc	21% 2.3mg	7.8% 0.86mg	11mg per day for Men 19-50 years
Water	10.7% 397g	0.022% 0.81g	3700g per day for Men 19-50 years

Lets compare vitamin content per 100 calories of Spinach vs Sunflower Seeds:

• Raw Spinach has 3969.5 times more Vitamin A, 1.3 times more Vitamin B1, 13.5 times more Vitamin B2, 2.2 times more Vitamin B3, 1.5 times more Vitamin B5, 3.7 times more Vitamin B6, 21.7 times more Vitamin B9, 509.6 times more Vitamin C, 1.5 times more Vitamin E and more Vitamin K than Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels.
• Both Raw Spinach as well as Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels have insufficient amounts of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D in 100 kcal.

Comparing minerals per 100 calories for Spinach vs Sunflower Seeds:

• Raw Spinach has 32.2 times more Calcium, 1.8 times more Copper, 13.1 times more Iron, 6.2 times more Magnesium, 11.7 times more Manganese, 1.9 times more Phosphorus, 22 times more Potassium, 222.9 times more Sodium, 2.7 times more Zinc and 490.6 times more Water than Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels.
• While Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels contain 2.1 times more Selenium than Raw Spinach.

Comparison of macro-nutrients per 100 calories:

• Raw Spinach has 58.4 times more Omega 3, 4.6 times more Carbohydrate, 4.1 times more Sugars, 6.5 times more Fiber and 3.5 times more Protein than Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels.
• While Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels contain 5.2 times more Fat, 2.8 times more Saturated Fat and 34.9 times more Omega 6 than Raw Spinach.
• Both Raw Spinach and Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels have similar amounts of Energy per 100 kcal.
• Both Raw Spinach as well as Dried Sunflower Seed Kernels have insufficient amounts of Cholesterol, Glucose and Sucrose in 100 kcal.