Surprising health benefits of cloves

The cloves 

           

Cloves are a highly prized medicinal spice that have been used for centuries in treating digestive and respiratory ailments. Cloves contain good amounts of vitamins A, C, K, and B-complex as well as minerals such as manganese, iron, selenium, potassium, and magnesium. They also contain powerful antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic properties making them tremendously useful in helping to heal a wide variety of illnesses and health conditions. 

Cloves are particularly beneficial for the digestive tract and are great for indigestion, gas, constipation, bloating, nausea, and countering the effects of heavy, rich food. They are excellent for relieving muscle spasms, headaches, and nerve pain. They are also often used to disinfect gums, teeth, kidneys, liver, skin, and bronchi. 

Clove oil contains eugenol which is a powerful anesthetic and natural pain reliever and is commonly used to help relieve toothaches and to numb gums in dentistry. Clove oil is also beneficial for the circulatory system and is a potent platelet inhibitor which prevents blood clots. Clove oil is also excellent for athletes foot and for healing cuts, bruises, burns, rashes, and psoriasis. 

Essential oil of Clove is an effective decongestant and should be used in a vaporizer, humidifier, or aromatherapy machine to help disinfect the air and to help benefit respiratory conditions such as sinusitis, tuberculosis, bronchitis, asthma, colds & coughs. Cloves are often combined with other herbs to create seasonings such as Curry Powder and Garam Masala in India, Chinese Five Spice in China, and Worcester Sauce in Great Britain. 

They are also the ideal addition to deserts, fruit salads, smoothies, and savory dishes alike. Clove tea is helpful for strengthening the immune system and detoxifying the body. Steep 2 tsp of whole cloves in two cups of hot water for at least 10 minutes, sweeten with honey if desired. 

Cloves can be found whole or powdered in you local supermarket or health food store. Capsules, extract, tincture, tea, and topical oils & creams can all be found online or at your local health food store

        Insufficient  Évidence For

• Anal tears. Early research shows that applying a clove oil cream to anal tears for 6 weeks improves healing compared to using stool softeners and applying lidocaine cream.
• Dental plaque. Early research shows that using a toothpaste or mouth rinse containing clove and other ingredients helps to reduce plaque on the teeth.
• Mosquito repellent. Early research shows that applying clove oil or clove oil gel directly to the skin can repel mosquitos for up to 5 hours.
• Pain. Early research shows that applying a gel containing ground cloves for 5 minutes before being stuck with a needle can reduce needle stick pain.
• Itching. Early research shows that putting a solution containing clove oil gel on the skin can help with severe itching.
• Toothache. Clove oil and eugenol, one of the chemicals it contains, have long been applied to the teeth and gums for toothache, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reclassified eugenol, downgrading its effectiveness rating. The FDA now believes there is not enough evidence to rate eugenol as effective for toothache pain.
• "Dry socket" following tooth extraction.
• Vomiting.
• Upset stomach.
• Nausea.
• Gas (flatulence).
• Diarrhea.
• Hernia.
• Pain and swelling (inflammation) of the mouth and throat.
• Cough.
• .Other conditions

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of clove for these uses.