The Health Benefits of Cloves
Cloves are a very versatile spice used in many Asian dishes or you may know them as an important ingredient in baked goods like gingerbread cookies. Native to the Asian continent, cloves are the buds from the Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree. Cloves have a sweet taste to them and despite their small size, they add a lot of aroma to a dish. Even if you’re not a huge fan of cloves, there’s still incentive to put them in your dishes every once in a while due to immense health benefits of cloves.
Clove-Nutrient Facts
For starters, cloves have a lot of important nutrients that can easily be added to your dishes with a spoonful of clove powder. Cloves are rich in fiber as well as vitamins K and C. Fiber helps keep you full for a longer amount of time and also aids with healthy digestion. Vitamins K and C are important for proper blood clotting and maintaining a healthy immune system respectively. Cloves are also a natural antioxidant due to eugenol, a compound found in cloves. Antioxidants help your body get rid of harmful particles caused by oxidative damage.
Cloves have anti cancer properties
Cloves are also thought to contain anti cancer properties. In a test tube study, it was found that eugenol, the compound found in cloves as mentioned earlier, can help shrink tumor sizes and attack cancer causing cells. Although these studies are promising, extremely high amounts of concentrated eugenol was utilized which is dangerous for humans and creates liver damage. However, the effects of smaller dosages of eugenol may still be beneficial and is continuing to be studied.
Cloves helps in digestive disorders
For digestive and gastric issues, cloves prove to be a promising solution. Using cloves to relieve stomach or intestinal pain is a practice that’s been around for several hundreds of years in Chinese and Indian medicine. Cloves can provide relief for nausea, diarrhea, dysentery, and dyspepsia just to name a few. We recommend adding some to your tea or taking it with honey to get the maximum benefits for digestive disorders.
Cloves have antimicrobial properties
Cloves can also kill certain bacteria due to its antimicrobial properties, lower blood glucose levels due to clove extracts acting as natural insulin, preserve bone density and support a strong skeletal system due to the minerals in cloves, and boost the immune system to cloves’ vitamin content. Furthermore, cloves are also good naturally relieving headaches. In order to heal headaches with cloves, it is recommended that a few cloves be made into a paste and added to a warm drink like milk or tea.
Cloves are high in antioxidants
Cloves contains Eugenol a natural antioxidants. About 89% of clove oil is Eugenol. Eugenol is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. The Eugenol is also considered as natural antioxidant that helps to neutralize free radicals. The free radicals are harmful compounds that when build up can cause harmful effects on body.
Regardless of which health benefit you’re looking to gain, cloves are a great spice to use. Even though the taste and aroma of cloves may take some time to getting used to, especially if you’ve never tried it before, they are an important spice for a lot of medicinal benefits. Cloves can be found in the spice aisle of most grocery stores or in health stores. As with any other natural remedy, if you experience any unusual side effects, discontinue use immediately and consult your primary care physician.
Indian spices are full of health benefits, read some other helpful articles on Indian spices like Cardamom, Cinnamon, Corriander and Black-pepper
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