13 Health Benefits of Cloves

Nutrient Packed but unattractive cloves are often not noticed by many probably due to its tiny nature, but clove is a medicinal and versatile spice that should not be lacking in our kitchen especially during those cold times.

WHAT ARE CLOVES

Clove is the dried bud of the flower from the tree Syzygium aromaticum.  It belongs to the plant family  Myrtaceae.  Clove is an herb which people use various part of it for different purposes.  All parts of clove, the stem and leaves are used to make medicine and as spices in various cookings.  Clove oil is also available with properties that benefits health as much as the dried buds.  Here we want to look at the health benefits of cloves when used in the form of dried bud, grounded dried or in any form. The dried buds which is an indication of its maturity before harvesting is the most interesting part of the herb.

These tiny spices are common in northern part of Nigeria where it is used in preparing drinks like zobo, kunu and other liquids for nourishment.  It is actually a native of Asian countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan and some East African countries.

According to National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, the nutrients found in cloves include carbohydrates, protein, energy, and dietary fiber.  Minerals in cloves are  potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium.  The vitamins include vitamin E, folate and niacin, also found in it  are phosphorus, iron, zinc,vitamin C thiamin, riboflavin and vitamin A and K.  You can see that it is truly nutrient packed.

According to one researcher, certain bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, ethanol, thymol eugeno and benzene present in cloves  possesses beneficial properties with antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial and anti inflammatory properties.

Here are 13 Health Benefits of Cloves

1.  Antibacterial Properties

The extract of cloves are potent enough to kill some pathogens that invade and attack our immune system.  They have also been tested for their  antibacterial effect against several pathogens.

2.  Liver Protection

Cloves have high antioxidant content ideal for protecting our organs from free radical damage particularly the liver.  Metabolism  in the long run, increases free radical production and lipid profile, which decreasing the antioxidants reserves of the liver being  one of the key organs for metabolism especially fats and oil.  Clove extracts are helpful in counteracting these effects with its hepatoprotective properties.

3.  Anti Inflammatory Properties

Cloves possess anti inflammatory and pain killing properties.  Studeis on clove extracts administered to lab rats suggests that the presence of eugenol rduced the inflammation caused by edema.  It was also confirmed that eugenol can reduce pain caused by stimulating receptors.

4. Toothache and Oral Health

 If you have issues with your tooth or oral health, using clove to prepare hibiscus flower tea and taken last thing at night will reduce pain and grant you restful sleep. It is helpful in improving overall oral health.  It kills pathogens which are responsible  for various oral diseases.  Clove oil is also beneficial for tooth ache and oral problems.

5.  Reduces and Prevents Headache

At the onset of headache, try a drink by a drink such as boiling few sticks of the bud in hot water with soghurm tea and and add a teaspoon of honey to it.  Allow to cool and drink at the first sign of the headache.  Take a sufficient rest and be properly hydrated.

6.  Improves Digestion

If you are feeling sluggish, try this drink cook  hibiscus flower tea in water for about 10 minutes and add some pounded sticks of cloves and take some in a glass cup and drink to improve your digestion and get your bowel moving again.  Adding cloves with other spices will boost your stomach secretion of digestive enzyme after your meal.  They help eliminate gas which collects in the digestive tracts which makes them a good cure for flatulence.  They can also be grounded in powdered form and mixed with honey as a home remedy for  stomach disorders.   I like taking this drink whenever, I feel a fever is about to knock,  It is very effective in warding off fever like malaria with all its symptoms such as headache and various other aches and pains.

7.  Anti Carcinogenic

Research show that cloves can act as an effective anticarcinogenic which is a substance that can protect the body against the growth of cancers by inhibiting them.  This applied specifically to lung cancer and result showed that cloves stopped the growth completely.

8.  Helps with Respiratory Issues

Use of cloves in teas or various drinks helps lessen the syumptoms of colds or the flu.    It also acts as an expectorant and help in relieving congestion and makes it easier to rid the respiratory tracts of phlegm.

9.  Healthy Bones

Women  in their menopausal yrs should embrace cloves in their kitchen seeing that it possesses phenolic compounds such as isoflavones  and flavonoids which are beneficial for bone health.  This is because they aid in retaining bone mass and may prevent cases of osteoporosis as they prevent the bones from detoriating.  No wonder it is beneficial for arthritis

10.  Relieves Stress

Persons going through stress can incorporate cloves into the diet to reduce stress and pains associated with it.  Using cloves powder and honey in warm water will make a good drink for this purpose.

11.  Prevent Stomach Ulcers

Some research reveals that extracts from cloves contain compounds which can help in managing stomach ulcers often caused by thinning of the stomach lining  which exposes the delicate tissues underneath.  This occurs due to factors like infections, stressful lifestyles  and sometimes diet.  The study shows that cloves stimulate the production of mucus in the stomach.  This gastric mucus can prevent the thinning of the lining which would lead to the erosion of tissues by gastric acids.

12.  Controls Diabetes

One disease so common among the aged folk is diabetes which occurs when the body is no longer producing insulin as required, one can further manage diabetes by including cloves in the diet as  scientist have revealed that extracts from clove imitate insulin in certain ways and maintains sugar levels in the body.

13. Useful for Common Cold

Works as expectorant that loosens  mucus in the esophagus and throat to help us cough it out.  So if you suspect you have mucus trapped in there, get some cloves.  Its antimicrobial properties kills pathogens that can lead to throat  infections and congestion in the chest.

In summary, it is better to take cloves in moderation should you decide to make it part of your spices.  Too much of every good thing may give a negative result and if your are on drug, please speak with your doctor before using or drinking liquids containing cloves.


Ref: www.Organic Facts.net
       www.Naturalfoodseries.com
       www.fabnaturals.com