Ever wanted to know the health benefits of clove? Clove has so many wonderful health benefits, which makes it a great herb to keep in your cabinets and to use as a home remedy. Clove is an herb we use mainly in cooking. You may recognize it in curries, mulled wines, ciders, and yes, pumpkin spice. But do you know all the health benefits of clove?
Let me preface this by saying I’m not a doctor and this is in no way medical advice, rather things that I have learned and have done in my life. All medical advice should be from a doctor and be sure to ask your doctor before trying anything may it be: natural remedies, exercise, supplements, etc.
Clove Is Great For Home Remedies
There are so many wonderful health benefits of cloves. This is an herb you will want to keep in your medicine cabinet. Plus, it’s flavorful and great to cook with. But like most of the herbs we cook with, many people don’t know the health benefits or the side effects of clove.
What Is Clove?
Clove is an herb used in teas, foods, and home remedies. But what is it? Obviously it’s a plant. But what kind of plant?
Cloves are actually flower buds! They are the unopened, and dried, flower bud from the evergreen tree (Syzgium aromaticum). They actually look more like little nails than flower buds in my opinion.
The flower when open is actually red, yellow, and white.
The Health Benefits Of Clove
1. Clove For Blood Sugar
One of the health benefits of clove is that is can lower blood sugar. Isn’t that cool?
There was a study published in 2019 where researchers were able to show the effects clove had on healthy and prediabetic people.
The researchers did find that there were significant changes in glucose in those with prediabetes. Clove can lower fasting glucose in those with prediabetes.
Clove can as help protect against blood sugar spikes in prediabetic people as well as people with normal blood sugars.
This is because clove is rich in polyphenol.
There have been other studies done on clove as well. It can help with the function of cells and their ability to produce insulin.
2. Clove To Regulate Your Hunger
So, one of my favorite health benefits of clove is that this spice can help regulate your hunger.
According the the USDA National Nutrient Database:
“…cloves are rich in many nutrients including carbohydrates, protein and dietary fibre. The spice also contains essential vitamins like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, folate, riboflavin, Vitamin A, thiamine and Vitamin K.”
Times of India
Fiber is great, but clove also stimulates the metabolism! That spice has anti-lipid properties as well as anti-cholesteremic properties.
What does that mean?
It lowers your fat levels, cholesterol, and triglycerides.
When added with pepper, cumin seeds, and cinnamon, it can help increase how your metabolism works.
3. Clove For Tooth Pain
Clove doesn’t heal a cavity. Let me get that out of the way. However, clove can help temporary get rid of tooth pain and help clean out an infection in the tooth.
Clove has an active ingredient called eugenol. This is a natural anesthetic which helps numb the area of pain.
This is actually a health benefit of clove I knew for years actually. It is a home remedy my mom actually used.
In a study done, researchers found that eugenol is actually more effective at reducing:
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Pain
They also found that clove gel was just as effective as benzocaine.
4. Clove Is Antibacterial and Antifungal
Another health benefit of clove is antibacterial and antifungal. It’s been used traditionally to not only may food taste good, but to also treat food to keep out bad molds and yeast.
But the antibacterial property is also why clove is so great at clearing up tooth infections.
5. Clove Has Anti Aging Properties
Clove oil is actually used in a lot of products we use for anti-aging. Why? Because clove is so full of antioxidants.
Antioxidants can help reduce signs of aging like dark spots and wrinkles.
Clove is full of vitamin e and we all know how important vitamin e is for our skin.
6. Clove Can Help With Inflammation
We kind of talked about this already. One of the health benefits of clove is that it is anti-inflammatory. But why?
Because of the compound in it eugenol. It isn’t just for numbing, but helps reduce inflammation in the body.
What does that mean?
It means it that eugenol lowers inflammation in the body which helps reduce diseases like autoimmune disease and arthritis.
7. Clove Is Great For Getting Rid Of A Cough
I found out about this clove health benefit from TikTok. Turns out clove acts as an expectorant for illnesses like:
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Coughs
- Cold
- Other Upper Respiratory Infections
8. Clove Helps With Digestive Issues
Want to another great health benefit of clove? It can help with digestive issues!
Clove actually helps stimulate enzyme secretions and also helps with increasing digestive motility. In case you’re not familiar with what digestive motility is, it’s the movement of food from the throat all the way down the organs and out of the body.
That isn’t all, it can also help with gas too. Which is great, because gas can be extremely painful sometimes.
Besides that, it can also help get rid of nausea.
Also, clove can ease the symptoms of dyspepsia (bloating, gas, burning, feeling too full too quickly) and IBS
9. Clove Can Help With Skin Problems
Did you know close is great as a treatment for acne and pimples? That’s because of its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Using clove helps get rid of all the yuck on your skin that makes you break out.
Plus, it can help you get rid of the acne or pimples you already have.
10. Clove Is A Great Natural Insect Repellent
Clove is used by a lot of homesteaders/homemakers. Turns out clove oil can help to keep bed bugs away, help keep roaches away, as well as other insects like mosquitos.
The Side Effects Of Clove
Like all good things, clove can have some side effects. The side effects of clove can be caused by large amounts of clove and small amounts of clove, particularly clove oil.
11. Clove Allergies
Yes, if you have an allergy to clove then the smallest amounts may cause side effects. It’s rare to have an allergy to clove, but being exposed to clove when you are allergic can cause:
- Local irritation on the skin
- Contact dermatitis
- Hives
- Difficulty Breathing
- Swelling of your face, body parts, throat, mouth, tongue, etc
- Burning of the skin
12. Clove Oil Toxicity
Clove oil can be toxic (eugenol overdose), which is why it is so important to understand that natural remedies, herbs, and oils are medicine and need to be dosed correctly and you need to have an understanding of side effects.
Symptoms and effects of clove oil toxicity can cause:
- Shallow breathing
- Quickened breathing
- Blood in urine
- No urine output
- Pain when urinating
- Burning throat and mouth
- Coughing up blood
- Stomach Pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Liver Failure
- Diarrhea
- Fast Heatbeat
- Dizziness
- Seizures
- Unconciousness
- Coma
If you think you or someone you know has overdosed on clove oil, then you need to call 911.
Medications and Herbs That Should Not Be Taken With Clove
Like most herbs you should be careful when taking it (in regular amounts beyond cooking) with other medications and herbs.
Medications to avoid with clove:
- Ibuprofen/Advil
- Flomax
- Diabetic medications that lower blood sugar
- Anticoagulant/Antiplatelet drugs
Herbs to avoid in large amounts (more than a pinch when cooking) with clove:
- Capsicum
- Danshen
- Dong Quai
- Garlic
- Horse Chestnut
- Ginkgo
- Red Clover
- Tumeric
- Panax Ginseng
- Poplar
- Willow
What Does Clove Taste Like?
Clove is a very aromatic earth. It smells good. It’s very spicy smelling, sweet, warm and woody. And the taste is very similar. The health benefits of clove aside, clove has a wonderful taste. It’s slightly sweet, and is a little astringent and bitter? Not in a bad way.
It actually pairs well with other warm flavors like cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.
Where Does Clove Come From?
Clove is originally from India and Indonesia. However, they are grown in other parts of the world now. Today, clove is grown not only in India and Indonesia, but also Jamaica, Brazil, and other tropical climates.
The tree that clove grows on grows really well in humid tropical regions. These areas typically have 59-98 inches of rain and is around 68-86 Fahrenheit.
What Is Clove Generally Used For?
I mean, we all know the health benefits of clove and side effects of clove, but clove actually have more uses as well. The uses of cloves are:
- Cooking (like curries)
- Baking (like apple pie)
- Used in dry rubs (meat)
- Insecticide
- Cleaning
- Killing Mold
Clove Is Something You Should Keep In The Cabinets
I’m not a doctor. But I think clove is a great home remedy to keep around and super great to cook with. Apples cooked down with a little ginger, clove, and honey. So yummy! At the end of the day, it’s up to you, but I love using natural medicine.