I wanted to share something that completely took me by surprise recently: cloves. I viewed them as a simple holiday kitchen spice, but after doing some digging around, coming across some pretty cool research and trying them myself, I realized they have many health benefits worth adding to my morning routine due to the power of eugenol, which is the principal bioactive chemical component found in raw cloves. Eugenol is responsible for the spice’s distinct aroma and drives many of its therapeutic and toxicological properties
I’m simply sharing my personal story and what I’ve learned along the way. By no means is this professional health advice. But if you’re curious about natural wellness, I wanted to lay out what works for me. With any health decision, deep research and consulting your personal physician is always the best choice. There are a few major warnings I uncovered that nobody seems to talk about.
What Wowed Me (The Benefits)
When I started looking into it, I found that using cloves in my daily morning routine has some incredible benefits. At the very end of this article, I included a list of resources if you’d like to jump into the data yourself.
Here is what really caught my attention:
The Ultimate Antioxidant: They’re packed with antioxidants that help your body fight off everyday “biological rust”; what scientists call oxidative stress. Think of it like a slow breakdown within your cells caused by pollution, stress, and processed foods. Cloves help neutralize that damage.
A Lifesaver for Pain: Apparently dentists have used clove oil for generations to ease oral pain. It’s widely reported that a tiny bit of diluted clove oil completely numbs a toothache. Personally, I stay far away from commercial clove oils; there are just too many “hands” in the making of it. I stick strictly to the whole spice.
Immune & Digestion Support: Since incorporating cloves, my digestion feels smoother and they have great natural microbial properties that keep things balanced. While I don’t personally struggle with bloating, it’s highly rated for relieving that as well.
How I Take It: The 12-Hour Cold Soak
I don’t use commercial oils or chew on the raw spice. I found the absolute best way to consume raw cloves is soaking 12 to 15 whole clove buds in a glass of water (I use 20oz Ball jars) with a tight lid overnight.
This overnight soak unveils distinct benefits, especially when compared to boiling them into a hot tea:
It Protects the Good Stuff: When you boil cloves the high heat can prematurely evaporate or damage the delicate volatile oils, including the eugenol you want for health benefits. A 12-hour cold soak is a gentle way to slowly and gently draw out the antioxidants without cooking them.
It’s Way Gentler on the Stomach: Raw cloves are incredibly intense and can irritate your mouth or stomach if you just pop them in your mouth. The long cold soak creates a refreshing, subtly spiced water that delivers the plant’s benefits without that overwhelming, burning bite.
What Does It Actually Feel Like? (Instant vs. Invisible)
Whenever I try anything new, I always ask myself: Am I actually going to feel a difference, or is this just one of those moments where I just have trust the science?
With cold-soaked clove water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, it’s a mix of both:
The Instant Physical Feel: This part I notice right away. I get an immediate clean, refreshing feeling in my mouth and a mild, comforting warmth in my gut.
The “Just Trust It” Invisible Side: On the flip side, I don’t “feel” the massive antioxidant boost or the cellular immune support working. I don’t wake up with a sudden surge of energy just because my oxidative stress went down. This is definitely a “trust the science” situation where the best benefits are happening quietly behind the scenes to protect your cells.
The Side Effects (The Hidden Risks)
However, natural doesn’t always mean safe in high doses. While researching, I found some serious warnings that usually apply to concentrated doses or high-potency oils:
Blood Thinning: Eugenol can naturally slow down how fast your blood clots. If someone is already taking prescription blood thinners like warfarin or daily aspirin, mixing them with heavy medicinal doses of cloves can cause serious bleeding risks.
Danger to Kids: Clove oil is highly toxic to children. Even a tiny amount (like a teaspoon) can cause severe emergencies. For instance, seizures or liver damage so keep it way out of reach of the little ones.
Blood Sugar Drops: Because cloves are great at making your body more sensitive to insulin, taking medicinal amounts alongside diabetes medications, like insulin or metformin, can cause blood sugar to crash dangerously low.
Mouth and Skin Burns: Putting undiluted clove oil straight onto your gums or skin can cause chemical burns, raw tissue irritation, or a nasty rash.
Notice these risks are associated with commercial clove oil. Natural clove is the way to go in my opinion.
How about you? Have you ever experimented with spices in your morning wellness routine, or are you strictly team coffee? I’ve read articles about the health benefits of adding a clove bud to your morning coffee. Interesting!
Drop a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
Stay well,
Theo Baskind ~Life Is A Matter of Perspective~
Citations & References for Further Personal Study
For Bleeding Risks & Anticoagulation:
Medical reviews confirm that the eugenol in cloves slows down how fast blood clumps together. You can point readers to the comprehensive WebMD Clove Side Effects and Precautions Guide, or cite specific laboratory findings published on PubMed via the Taipei Medical University repository, which details exactly how eugenol suppresses blood platelet activation. [1, 2, 3, 4]For Pediatric Toxicity:
To back up the high risks of child ingestion (and the 5–10 mL threshold), you can reference official medical case studies. A notable case of an infant accidentally swallowing clove oil and experiencing central nervous system depression is archived on PubMed’s Clove Oil Ingestion Case Report. Additionally, you can link readers to the NCBI LiverTox Bookshelf on Eugenol, which outlines the severe liver injuries, seizures, and comas associated with childhood poisoning. [1, 2]For Hypoglycemia:
For evidence on how cloves lower blood sugar and can cause dangerous drops when mixed with insulin or metformin, the safety profile from the Drugs.com Clove Warnings and Drug Interactions Matrix provides an easy-to-read reference for non-medical readers. [1]For Tissue and Skin Irritation:
To show that concentrated clove oil acts as a direct irritant to the skin and mouth, you can cite the RxList Clove Safety and Topical Side Effects Sheet. For a look at how clove oil directly damages human skin cells at a microscopic level, you can reference the laboratory study published on PubMed Central’s Clove Cytotoxicity StudyFor Antimicrobial & Oral Health:
Medical summaries highlight how clove rinses fight oral plaque and gum inflammation, which you can verify through Medical News Today’s Detailed Clove Benefits Guide. To look at the laboratory evidence showing exactly how eugenol breaks down the cell walls of oral bacteria and pathogens, you can cite the peer-reviewed microbiology study on PubMed Central’s Clove Essential Oil Microbicide Study or the evaluation of clove extracts against dental decay on PubMed Central’s Oral Antimicrobial Comparison. [1, 2, 3]For High Antioxidant Density:
The general health breakdown from Healthline’s 8 Surprising Health Benefits of Cloves outlines how the spice reduces overall cellular damage. For laboratory proof of how dry-heat treating cloves actually increases their free-radical scavenging abilities, you can point to the chemical assays published on PubMed Central’s Clove Solvent and Antioxidant Study. [1, 2]For Metabolic & Glycemic Control:
To support the claim that cloves help lower post-meal blood sugar levels, you can cite a human pilot trial published on PubMed Central’s Clove Polyphenol Clinical Study. This study shows a significant drop in blood glucose for prediabetic individuals. You can also reference the animal trial findings on PubMed’s Clove Extract & Energy Metabolism Report, which maps out how cloves interact with insulin pathways. [1, 2]For the Nutritional Profile (Manganese):
To prove that just one teaspoon of ground cloves carries over 50% of your daily manganese requirements, you can cite the official government nutrition values found on the MyFoodData USDA Ground Cloves Nutrient Tool or review the complete vitamin and mineral dataset hosted by the University of Rochester Medical Center Health Encyclopedia.