Clove: The wonder spice!

Although most spices are excellent sources of antioxidants, cloves rank as the richest source of them all. The abundant health benefits of cloves have been well known for centuries. Cloves have antiseptic and germicidal properties that help fight infections, relieve digestive problems and arthritis pain.

They are also used to flavour paan. Clove oil is used in the manufacture of perfumes, soaps, bath salts and as a flavouring agent in medicine and dentistry. Cloves help stimulate sluggish circulation and thereby promote digestion and metabolism. In Chinese medicine, it is used for vomiting, indigestion and other related problems. If you are feeling stressed then, boil some water with basil leaves, mint leaves and clove. Then you can use this water for black tea. Add little bit of honey to it. This will help you ease tension.

Toothache: The use of a clove in toothache decreases pain. It also helps to decrease infection due to its antiseptic properties. Clove oil, applied to a cavity in a decayed tooth, also relieves toothache.

Digestive disorders: They are well known for relieving flatulence and can actually help promote good digestion as well as metabolism. They may also help relieve vomiting and diarrhea as well as a host of other digestive disorders.

Coughs: Chewing a clove with a crystal of common salt eases expectoration, relieves the irritation in the throat . Chewing a burnt clove is also an effective medicine for coughs.

Other Benefits: Cloves are an excellent source of manganese, a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin K and C and omega-3 fatty acids, and a good source of calcium and magnesium. Cloves also have a significant amount of protein, iron, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and hydrochloric acid.