11 Health Benefits of Cloves

Cloves or Syzygium aromaticum, are basically flower buds with distinct aromas. This comes from evergreen trees. These dried flower buds originated from China and traveled to Europe and Asia in the middle ages. Clove benefits are well-known in the spice and medicine world. It has significant health benefits including liver health and normalizing sugar levels in the body. It is used in hot beverages, baked food items, and chief spices to maximize the taste of many cuisines. Who doesn’t like Clove Masala Tea in cold winners and treating the common cold?

What are Cloves?

Cloves are dried flower buds from clove trees. Clove is a major spice that is used in many cooking methods around the globe. In India, it is one home remedy that can cure multiple health conditions. They are strong aromatic spices used in food to give it a distinct taste. These dark brown buds give spiciness to many dishes like curries, cookies, bread, etc. It can be used as clove powder or as a whole bud as well. It is similar to other spices or herbs like cinnamon and nutmeg. You can understand long ke fayde in various Dadi ke nuskhe. It is hot in nature so used in winter to cure cold and throat soreness.

Nutritional Value of Clove

Cloves are full of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It is a good source of nutrients and adds a lot of flavor to any dish.

This table represents several nutrients and their amounts present in 2gm of ground clove:

Clove is high in manganese, an essential mineral for brain and bone health.

Apart from these nutrients, it is also a rich source of potassium, vitamin K, beta carotene, iron, calcium, and eugenol. It is low in calories but has a fair amount of a few minerals.

Also Read: Health Benefits of Cinnamon

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of Clove

Cloves are low-calorie, low-carb food with a low glycemic index. Its GI is 30. Cloves are good for blood sugar as their GI & GL both are low. Its Glycemic Load is 1.2/250 which is very low.

Health Benefits of Clove

Cloves have proven medicinal benefits along with an abundance of a few essential nutrients. They are a good source of pigment beta carotene which is also responsible for its brown color. Beta carotenes have antioxidant and provitamin properties. It converts into Vitamin A which is a necessary nutrient for the eyes and overall well-being.

There are many health benefits of clove:

A Good Antioxidant

Cloves are a powerful antioxidant that aid in the treatment of a variety of chronic health conditions. Antioxidants help to reduce oxidative stress that inhibits chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Clove is rich in eugenol, a natural antioxidant, that fights 5 times more against free radicals than any other antioxidant. It stops cell damage thus preventing the development of multiple diseases.

The inclusion of cloves in your diet with other antioxidant-rich foods can improve your health.

Also Read: Health Benefits of Beer

Anti-inflammatory

The anti-inflammatory properties of cloves are the result of two important and powerful phytonutrients, eugenol and isoeugenol. These phytonutrients reduce inflammation in the body and prevent the development of some conditions like arthritis or chronic conditions.

Also Read: Is Fish Good For Diabetes?

Anti-cancer Properties

Cloves are anti-cancer in properties because of eugenol. Some test-tube observations explain that eugenol has the capability of killing cancer cells and it can also hinder tumor growth majorly in cervical and esophagus cancer. For these tests, cloves were used in concentrated amounts.

There is a need for thorough and further research about cloves to explain their anti-cancer properties. Eugenol is toxic in excess amounts that can impact health, especially liver health significantly.

Also Read: Can Diabetics Eat Jaggery?

Anti-Diabetic

Cloves are also known for their anti-diabetic property. It is considered to control your blood sugar levels because of the presence of nigericin compounds. It helps in reducing insulin resistance and can promote moderate sugar levels.

Insulin is the hormone that manages blood sugar levels in the body by carrying it from the blood to the cells. Cloves help to improve the functions of insulin-producing cells and manage their levels. Some studies show its impact on test tubes and animal research. Although more studies are needed.

Also Read: Best Dry Fruits For Diabetics?

Anti-microbial Properties

Cloves have antimicrobial agents that reduce the development of bacteria-like microorganisms. It can act against bacteria and fungi like E. Coli., vaginal candidiasis, and staph aureus. Clove extracts and clove oil helps in fighting against food poisoning and stomach infections.

This spice is popular to strengthen oral health. It fights against resting mouth bacteria and improves oral hygiene by reducing bad breath and gum infections. It is used in mouthwash and toothpaste to reduce oral bacteria and plaque on teeth.

Also Read: Is Sweet Corn Good For Diabetics?

Suitable for the Liver

According to some studies, cloves help to improve liver health. The compound eugenol is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in properties that promote liver health. It reduces the risk of liver cirrhosis and fatty liver condition. It helps to strengthen liver health by decreasing oxidative stress. Some studies show that clove can help decrease the levels of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) responsible for liver diseases.

Although cloves can be identified as a good source for liver health, there is still a need for more human studies.

On the other hand, excess consumption of cloves can damage the liver because of eugenol toxicity.

Also Read: Health Benefits of Papaya

Helps in Reducing Ulcers

Stomach ulcers are the result of stress, infections, or genetics. These ulcers are caused by the depletion of the mucus layer in the stomach. This mucus layer helps to safeguard stomach walls from digestive acids. If these walls get thin, it results in stomach ulcers. Cloves have some compounds that help in thickening these walls. Clove helps in reducing the risks of developing new ulcers and also treats the existing ulcers. Clove oil can help increase stomach mucus and decrease the probability of gastric ulcers.

Also Read: Garlic Good For Diabetes?

Natural Painkiller and Anti-Cough Properties

As a traditional medicine, clove is used in treating cough, sore throat, and toothache. It is a very common home remedy that is used with hot beverages for treating cough. Clove oil is also an effective painkiller that is used to treat toothache for centuries.

Also Read: Are Sugar-Free Biscuits Safe For Diabetics?

Good for Bone Health

A large population is at risk of low bone density, arthritis, and osteoporosis. Cloves are rich in manganese which is important for bone health. Also, eugenol in clove helps to increase bone density and strength. These benefits of clove eventually prevent conditions like osteoporosis, fractures, and breaks because of low bone mass. Although these studies are limited to animals, there is much room for human research and clove’s impact on human bone health. However, a little amount of clove powder fulfills almost 30% of the daily required manganese in the body.

Also Read: Benefits of Apple

Clove Benefits for Men

Cloves are very beneficial for men and impact men’s reproductive health. It is very useful in increasing men’s health in multiple ways, they are:

It increases testosterone levels, improves sex lice, increases sperm count, removes infertility, increases libido, reduces the condition of early ejaculation, and strengthens reproductive organs.

Apart from these, using clove essential oil in bathing can also reduce the craving for smoking thus letting you free from smoking addiction.

Apart from these benefits, Cloves also have other benefits like

To treat cold, flu, cough, and congested chest. Any hot beverage mixed with clove and cinnamon can help in lowering the symptoms of these conditions.

It is also good for the skin. Cloves can detoxify skin and reduce acne, blemishes, and dark circles. It is used in many herbal face packs for better results and glowing skin.

Also Read: Is Makhana Good For Diabetics?

Way to Consume Clove

This is an omnipresent spice or herb that can be used year-long in food, medicines, and cosmetics. These dried flowers not only have a distinct aroma but flavor as well. You can consume it in many ways including as a whole bud, with beverages, and in many dishes.

You can use it in multiple ways:

Clove Tea

1. Clove tea is the easiest recipe to enjoy the benefits of cloves. To make clove tea:
2. Use a tablespoon of grounded clove
3. Boil it for some minutes
4. Strain it and drink it as an effective clove tea.

2. Clove Water: Clove water is also a great way of consuming this magical spice. In a glass of water, put 3-5 clove buds and leave them overnight. Drink it in the morning to see amazing results.
3. Apart from clove tea and clove water, you can also mix this dried flower in many dishes for flavor and taste:

Use in curries and chutneys

Add in pickles

Masala Milk Tea with Clove

Add in Baking, Cookies, and Bread

Used to season meat

It can also be used as a natural preservative

Side-Effects of Clove

Cloves have many health benefits but they also can affect health negatively and can cause a few side effects. These strong spices can lower blood sugar and can cause hypoglycemia where a person can feel dizziness and nausea. Its compound eugenol can also react with some blood-thinning medicines and increases the chances of side effects. However small amounts of clove can have more positive results than negatives but always pay attention while consuming it in excess. Eugenol in excess amounts can be toxic and can cause dizziness.

According to the traditional medicine system, cloves are a hot spice that can cause nosebleeds, mouth ulcers, stomach burning or irritation, and throat rashes if consumed in excess.

Also, some people are allergic to cloves so they should avoid them.

Also Read: Coconut Milk For Diabetics

Can Diabetics Eat Cloves?

Many studies suggested that cloves are good for diabetes. It helps in controlling blood sugar levels and increases insulin production. This super spice helps cells to secrete insulin which is responsible for moderate blood sugar levels in the body.

Clove’s GI and GL are low low-carb and calorie which is also a good factor in making it a diabetic-friendly spice. Clove oil helps in maintaining PP sugar levels and GRM.

Also Read: Multigrain Atta for Diabetes

Conclusion

Clove is a small-sized spice but has numerous health benefits. This spice provides many nutrients that help in controlling sugar, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, improve bone, liver, and gastric health, reduce pain, reduce risks of heart disease and cancer, and is also good for oral health.

It is one of the major herbs that is used in every Indian household to treat conditions like cold, cough, bad breath, congestion, fever, and pain. It is a traditional medicine that also helps to improve skin health.

This is used in many oral hygiene products like mouthwash and toothpaste to remove problems of bad breath, plaque, toothache, gum infection, and tooth decay.

It also acts as a painkiller.

So adding this amazing spice to your daily diet can provide you with many health benefits.

It is advised to consume it in a limited quantity as excess or clove can be toxic and can cause some side effects.

Read More: Homeopathic Medicines for Diabetes

FAQs:

Reference:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-cloves#The-bottom-line
https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-cloves#:~:text=Cloves%20are%20full%20of%20antioxidants,%2C%20diabetes%2C%20and%20certain%20cancers.
https://www.ndtv.com/food/clove-for-diabetes-how-does-clove-help-manage-blood-sugar-levels-1943703
https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/from-increasing-sperm-count-to-testosterone-levels-heres-how-clove-oil-can-help-men-4746080.htmlLast Updated on August 1, 2022 by Dr. Damanjit Duggal