A lot of people are familiar with cloves because they are normally used for cooking. People do not seem to realize that there are a lot more that can be expected from cloves. This spice is more common in some Asian countries but is also available in East Africa. Over the past years, more of cloves are shipped in various places.
Do you know that in that past, cloves cost a lot of money? It was being shipped and traded in various places but its high price made a lot of people greedy for it. There was even a war that took place just to decide who would keep cloves that was located in Maluku island. It was the Dutch who won that time and tried to keep Maluku islands away from the others. In the recent years however, cloves are easily distributed in various parts of the world.
While there are some who generally make use of cloves in order to make essential oils, there are also some who use cloves for making cigarettes more flavorful. There are various substances that are considered to be ioactive in cloves. Some of these properties are the following:
- Hexane
- Methylene Chloride
- Ethanol
- Thymol
- Benzene
- Eugenol
These are just some of the components that make cloves healthy and full of benefits. At this point, are you already curious to know more about cloves and the different benefits that it can give? They may be tiny but when it comes to giving various health benefits, cloves will not let you down.
How to Choose The Right Cloves
There are a lot of places wherein you can buy cloves right now but you have to pick the best ones to get the right benefits. They are normally available in some markets selling spice. You are recommended to buy in person so that you can double check the cloves before buying. Remember the following:
- The cloves should have a sweet smell when you try to squeeze the bud.
- Purchase cloves in whole forms. You may choose to buy powdered forms too but this may already be mixed with other spices.
- Take a look at the buds of the cloves. Are they still complete with sepals? They should all be in one piece.
If you would like to make the cloves last for a long time even when you are not using them, make sure to store them in a cool, dry place. If you need to grind them, you can use a hand mill. It will allow you to have access to milled cloves every time. Once you have grinded cloves though, you need to store them in refrigerators as they may go bad easily and lose their flavor.
The Many Benefits of Cloves You Should Know About
- It can help get rid of your toothache
There are different reasons why you are experiencing a toothache. It can be because of your wisdom tooth that is trying to emerge from your gums slowly. It may be because you have never taken good care of your teeth and you are now reaping the consequences. Perhaps you have bit into something that altered your tooth’s condition a bit. No matter what your excuse is, you cannot deny that getting a toothache can be very uncomfortable. In fact, it can stop you from doing different things.
With the use of cloves, you can temporarily forget about the pain because cloves can make the pain go away. Just remember that this is only temporary. You still need to go to your local dentist to you have your teeth and gums checked thoroughly.
- Place clove essential oil on a cotton ball.
- Place on the gum area or the tooth that hurts.
- Leave it there until the pain goes away.
- You may do this several times a day.
- It can help you treat some of your bruises and scrapes
You may get bruises when you hit a body part against a hard object. The size of your bruises may depend on how hard the impact it and how large the object that you hit into is. You can get scrapes from the most simple things but children may normally get scrapes from falling.
Cloves are known to contain antiseptic properties. This can be effective in treating the scrapes and bruises provided that it will be diluted a bit with a carrier oil like olive oil. If you would place clove oil directly on your scrape without diluting it, it can be pretty strong and it will sting a lot.
- It can help control certain types of cancer
If there is one disease that a lot of people dread having, it is cancer. There is something about the disease that just becomes deadly especially when it is not caught in its early stages. Cloves contain anti carcinogenic and chemo preventive properties.
This means that those who are undergoing chemotherapy or those who would like to prevent the onset of cancer may include the use of cloves in their diet. Just be reminded that this does not work for all types of cancer. This is known to be most effective for lung cancer especially when caught in its early stages.
- It can be used to prevent diabetes
People are not all born with Diabetes. There are some who develop the disease as they grow older because of the lifestyle that they live. Are you one of these people? If yes, then you should be reminded that Diabetes can still be controlled as long as you follow what your doctor says. Be reminded that being diagnosed with diabetes means that you are prone to getting other deadly diseases.
Since in Diabetes, the body does not produce that much insulin, the use of cloves can help regulate people’s condition. Cloves can imitate the effect of insulin and this can help the body control the blood sugar levels more to make people feel more comfortable.
- This can be used to improve digestion
It can be irritating to not have regular bowel movements. Those who are suffering from diarrhea can barely get out of the house in fear that they are not going to be near a restroom when they have to go. Those who are suffering from constipation can see the condition as a problem too because they have not had a bowel movement for days.
The use of cloves can be effective in relaxing the GI tract. When the GI track is inflamed, this can cause a lot of digestive problems. In some cases, vomiting is also involved. By taking cloves, this can be relaxed and condition will start to improve. Just remember that too much cloves can also irritate the stomach lining so use just enough.
- Cloves can be very effective in strengthening the immune system
Your immune system is responsible for improving your overall condition. If your immune system is not strong, you will become prone to various diseases. This is not something that you want to experience. You can strengthen your immune system with cloves.
Cloves can increase the white blood cell count which is responsible for fighting diseases. If you want to get this benefit, remember to use the bud of the clove as this is the most effective for this.
- It can help improve the preservation and strength of your bones
The bones have the tendency to become frail and weak as you get older. As your bones grow brittle, you will find it harder to move around. The movements that used to be very easy to do will not be that uncomplicated anymore. You would like to make sure that you can keep your bone strength and you can do this with the use of cloves.
Cloves contain eugenol. There are also derivatives from eugenol that can also be effective in improving your bone health. If you would start consuming cloves early, you may even prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
- This can be an aphrodisiac
There are some people who would need to have a bit of romance with their partners and this can be done when people are more stimulated to be romantic. If you want to use something that can stimulate you naturally then you can use clove.
If you would like to improve the effect, you can add clove essential oil to a bit of powdered nutmeg. Both nutmeg and clove have been studied extensively and each time they are tested, they show positive results.
- You can use cloves in order to get rid of headaches
There are different reasons why you may get headaches. At times, you may get it because of stress or overexertion. There are also moments when it is caused by bright lights and getting hit on the head. No matter what the reason is, you would like to get rid of the headache soon so you can start focusing on the tasks that you have to work on.
It has been proven that cloves can also be effective in getting rid of headaches, this is what you have to do:
- Get a few cloves and mash them so you can get a paste.
- Add a bit of rock salt.
- Mix the paste to a glass of milk.
- You will start to feel relief for your headache after some time.
- It can get rid of inflammation on different parts of the body
If there is one thing that should be remembered about cloves, it is the fact that it has anti inflammatory properties. This can make them effective in pain killing. Since cloves contain eugenol, this stimulates pain receptors in order to get rid of the pain.
- Cloves can help get rid of bad breath
Are you having issues with your breath? There are times when bad breath is caused by oral issues. If you have cavities on your teeth and the cavities are causing your teeth to rot, then your breath will start smelling bad.
You just need to consume cloves on a daily basis in order to stop your oral health issues and get rid of bad breath eventually. Just mix cloves with some of your meals and at times, even your drink. Do not forget to go to the dentist too so your other oral issues will be addressed immediately.
Some Side Effects of Taking Cloves
It is evident that there are a lot of benefits that can be received from taking cloves but it should be remembered that it can be quite strong if you take too much of it. There are some side effects you may experience when you take too much cloves such as the following:
- Erection Problems – It has been mentioned earlier that cloves can be aphrodisiacs but taking too much can cause the erection to last longer than it should. It may come to a point when it is already too painful and medical attention is needed. Some men also notice that they experience delayed ejaculation because of taking cloves.
- Mild Skin Irritation – There are some people who are allergic to cloves. If you have sensitive skin then you may think twice before placing it on your skin if you want to treat your bruises or scrapes. You always have to dilute it first with carrier oil before placing on the skin.
- Sore Gums – Some people have made the mistake of chewing on cloves in order to get rid of oral health issues but the cloves turn out to be too strong. This may cause irritation on various parts of the mouth.
There are some people who hope to stop smoking by using cigarettes that are made out of cloves instead but studies show that in the long run, they may turn out to be worse than normal cigarettes because of the amount of nicotine found in cloves.
Based on the things mentioned above, it is evident that cloves can give a lot of benefits but it should be remembered that they are too strong to be used on their own. Make sure to follow proper instructions in using cloves to get only the advantages and none of the side effects.