Cloves are one of the famous spices available all around the world. Unlike other spices that are available by seasons, cloves could be found throughout the year, so whenever you need it, the stock will be available nearby. Cloves provide you unique flavor like the combination of spicy and warm feeling mixed together, so it is perfect for baking, like pie and ginger bread, cooking for soup or addition to beverages like in a cup of tea. For more unique flavor, the combination of cloves and cinnamon is also perfect. However, the usage of cloves is not limited in the kitchen only because due to a lot of benefits of cloves for health, they are also used for the sake of medication.
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Well, everyone must know what cloves are but not everyone know from where cloves were cultivated. The origin of cloves are from Indonesia, especially from Maluku but now cloves are widely cultivated and exported not only from Indonesia but also from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Tanzania and Pakistan. Unlike cinnamon which is obtained from a certain tree’s inner bark, cloves are actually flower buds of a cloves tree from family Myrtaceae with has scientific name Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves are harvested when the flower has four spreading sepals with unopened petals in the center, after that the cloves will be dried before they were distributed in dried form.
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Nutritional Value of Cloves
| Dried Cloves Serving Size: 6 grams | |
| Energy | 47 Kcal – 2% |
| Carbohydrate | 10.51 g – 8% |
| Protein | 3.27 g – 6% |
| Total Fat | 0.15 g – 0.5% |
| Dietary Fiber | 5.4 g – 14% |
| Vitamins | |
| Folates | 68 µg – 17% |
| Niacin | 1.046 mg – 6.5% |
| Panthothenic Acid | 0.338 mg – 7% |
| Pyridoxine | 0.116 mg – 9% |
| Riboflavin | 0.066 mg – 5% |
| Thiamin | 0.072 mg – 6% |
| Vitamin A | 13 IU – 0.5% |
| Vitamin C | 11.7 mg – 20% |
| Vitamin E | 0.19 mg – 1% |
| Vitamin K | 14.8 µg – 12% |
| Minerals | |
| Sodium | 94 mg – 6% |
| Potassium | 370 mg – 8% |
| Calcium | 44 mg – 4% |
| Copper | 0.231 mg – 27% |
| Iron | 1.28 mg – 16% |
| Magnesium | 60 mg – 15% |
| Manganese | 0.256 mg – 11% |
| Phosphorus | 90 mg – 13% |
| Selenium | 7.2 µg – 13% |
| Zinc | 2.32 mg – 21% |
| Others | |
| Beta-Carotene | 8 µg |
| Lutein-zeaxanthin | 464 µg |
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Cloves are one of the spices from herbal plant with unique flavor which have a lot of benefits for human health. However, not many people know about the benefits of cloves for health because instead of used as medication, cloves are famous because they were the main ingredients of cigarette called Kretek in Indonesia. Well, to open your mind a bit, perhaps the list of benefits of cloves for health below will give you some insight knowledge about how amazing cloves are.
Some compounds found in cloves are effective to stimulate the secretion of certain digestive enzymes to improve digestion. Healthy digestion will promote healthier body metabolism and optimal nutrient absorption.
Some studies have found that some antimicrobial properties found in cloves are even effective to kill bacteria of cholera. More studies have stated that cloves are potent solution to kill a number of human pathogens.
Cloves are relatively rich of antioxidants that are great to fight free radicals that could cause the development of cancerous cells.
The hepatoprotective properties found in cloves are really great for liver protection because due to metabolism process, the amount of antioxidant in the liver could be significantly decreased and those properties provide the counter effect and provide protection to the liver.
From the table above, cloves are relatively high in vitamin C which is great for immune system. Furthermore, cloves also promote the production of white blood cells and at the same time treat hypersensitivity.
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Insulin is essential to manage the level of blood sugar but due to certain factors, body cannot produce insulin or the amount of insulin is not enough to regulate the blood sugar level in the bloodstream. Well, cloves could make sure the optimal production of insulin to manage blood sugar level.
There is no way for you to stop the time, so getting older is something you could make sure. During senior age your body will lose its ability to absorb calcium and there must be the time when your bones are lacking of calcium. Well, cloves have solution by preserving your bone quality and keeping them strong in much longer time.
One of the mutagenic effects is when your DNAs are mutated due to some factors, like free radicals. It is actually the root of the development of cancerous cells. Cloves contain anti-mutagenic properties that could prevent it in the first place.
Toothache is not going to be fatal but totally annoying. Before you meet your doctor, you could chew some cloves to relieve the aches.
During pregnancy, sometimes mothers should deal with their headache because they are not allowed to consume any drugs for the sake of the baby. Well, cloves are quite safe to consume even during pregnancy and they are great to treat headache.
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Due to some properties like anti-carcinogenic and chemo-preventive properties, some studies have shown that cloves could treat early stage lung cancer in much effective way.
The eugenol found in cloves is potent anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, cloves also contain pain-killing properties to relieve the pain caused by the inflammation.
The fact that cloves contain aphrodisica properties have been proven by some intensive studies and tests.
Antioxidants are essential for human body especially for immunity system because it is the only effective way to fight free radicals and cloves contain some potent antioxidants that required by human body.
There are a lot of factors that could cause you suffering from nausea and vomiting but whatever the factors that cause it, you could always count on cloves to relieve the nausea and prevent the vomiting.
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Cough could be really annoying sometimes especially when you got in the middle of the night. Just pour a glass of warm water and then put some cloves to drink, to treats cough naturally.
Got problem with bad breath especially after you eat some foods that are not good for your breath? Well, just chew some cloves to fight it.
One of the benefits of cloves for health that not everyone knows is that cloves are great to overcome sinusitis, though perhaps it is only for the sake of home remedy only, consult your condition with your doctor is still necessary.
Most pregnant mothers don’t know that to deal with their morning sickness is as easy as consuming warm tea with some cloves every morning.
It is true that there are a lot of medicines and drugs you could consume to treat cold but for you who prefer natural way; cloves are the best solution available in this matter.
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Flatulence occurs when gas is accumulated in the alimentary canal. What you need to do to treat it is just taking 4 or 5 cloves and mix them with warm water, drink it every morning to treat flatulence effectively.
You could try to inhale the extract cloves oil as aromatherapy to help you releasing your stress.
The anesthetic properties and anti-bacterial properties found in cloves are great to treat acnes and the healing properties found in cloves will help you accelerating the healing process.
Well, acnes and some skin conditions could leave some ugly scars in your skin. Just applying cloves oil regularly to help you healing and removing the scars completely.
The herbal mask made from cloves are not only able to kills bacteria that cause pimples and acnes but also able to give your skin a natural glowing.
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One of the amazing benefits of cloves for health is for your scalp. Just massaging cloves oil to your scalp to improve the blood flow and promote the healthier hair growth.
From the list above about benefits of cloves for health, you must have a lot of reasons to consume cloves by adding them to your cooking, baking or beverages and use them for medication purpose. However, cloves also contain some properties that probably not really good for your health if they were consumed in high dosage. Fortunately, it is very rare for a person to consume cloves in high dosage but still you need to aware of some cautions of cloves.
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It is better for you to purchase whole cloves instead of the powdered cloves because you could check the quality of cloves by putting them in the water. Those that are floating vertically are in the good quality while those that are sinking or floating horizontally are stale.