Dosage and Side Effects of Sunflower Oil

As with anything in life, the common principle still remains, which is too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. Sunflower oil has many rich health benefits and tastes great in many applications, but it does have some health effects that are lesser talked about than its benefits. Most of the following negative health effects come from consuming sunflower oil in excessive quantities beyond the recommended levels. One of these effects is obesity.

Despite the healthy attributes of sunflower oil, it is incredibly high in fat content. This means that if someone were to consume large enough quantities of it, they would run the risk of gaining a substantial amount of weight. Fortunately this is not something that most people should be worried about, assuming they use sunflower oil responsibly.

The proper dosage of sunflower oil is easily achieved, just use it in the same quantities as you would if you were consuming another oil such as olive oil. If this dosage is maintained, the negative health effects listed here should not come into play.

Ironically, another one of the supposed health risks of sunflower oil is cardiovascular disease, which is usually something it is known for preventing. Although as mentioned above, the average consumer taking sunflower oil in moderate quantities should not be concerned with this effect.

In high amounts hypertension has also been reported as a concern. The reason for this is that polyunsaturated fatty acids can get deposited into the arteries, causing a rise in blood pressure. If rising blood pressure becomes a concern, renal failure also comes into the picture along with a host of other problems.

Other indirect concerns would be diabetes and certain obesity related illnesses. Although acquiring any of these problems from the consumption of sunflower oil is highly unlikely for the average person, they are still valid health concerns under the right circumstances.