What if you could buy a simple seasoning from the aisle at your local grocery store, soak it overnight, and then drink it with a weight-loss potion, a fertility-boosting drink, and a topical vaginal rejuvenator? If TikTok is to be believed, these are among the benefits of drinking clove water, which is made by steeping whole cloves in distilled water in the refrigerator for an extended period of time.
If all the holistic health enthusiasts swear by this stuff, and it’s a natural substance, why not give it a try…right? We spoke to a doctor who confirmed some of the potential benefits of clove water, but warned that much of what is shared online is not backed by science.
Clove water benefits and social media myths
When it comes to the benefits of drinking clove water, unlike so many health “tips” on TikTok, there are actually yes Dr. Case Tedder, a board-certified family medicine physician with Orlando Health Physicians, said some studies show there are benefits to participating. He said clove water has historically been used to aid digestive health and is thought to have antioxidant properties. Its benefits aren’t clearer than that — whether it can reduce gastrointestinal inflammation or help your gut microbiome, for example — but it does appear in academic studies. And that’s… the end of the list of proven benefits.
“I really can’t get any confirmation, but I would encourage people to be cautious about these kinds of things, and that’s weight loss and reproductive health,” he said. So basically, we don’t have any data to support the claims made by creators on TikTok about the benefits of clove water. You might still decide to give it a try since it’s all natural, so what’s the harm?
Risks of drinking clove water
What worries Ted is that those who posted the clove water recipe online are brewing a concoction that is far stronger than any drink previously studied. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifies cloves and clove oil as generally safe for consumption, there have been documented cases of young children ingesting too much clove oil and suffering serious side effects, both of which required hospitalization. In general, a good rule of thumb is not to give your child any herbs or supplements that haven’t been pre-approved by your pediatrician, and the same thing seems to apply to clove water.
It’s also worth paying attention to the strength of homemade clove water and consulting your own doctor before taking it yourself. “The most important thing I would caution people about is making sure you know how it affects other drugs,” Ted said. “Cloves can have effects on blood sugar and clotting ability. Caution must be used when considering the use of these alternatives.
When you see a promising new health treatment online
If you spend a lot of time on social media and people online are trying to sell you some simple health tips that will change your life – apply rosemary oil to your scalp to grow hair, or put it on your Rub garlic on acne to remove spots. It is important to remember that just because a substance is natural, it is not necessarily harmless, nor does it guarantee that it is beneficial.
“I think discussing this with people you trust in the healthcare setting is a helpful first step. Using verified research sources or links to peer-reviewed articles, such as PubMed or Google Scholar, can be very helpful in guiding us toward Move in the right direction and understand what is real and truly useful.
It’s easy to see why these trends are catching on online—it’s much easier (and cheaper) to buy some cloves at the store and soak them overnight than to make a doctor’s appointment, wait for the doctor to come, and possibly get shuffled around. Go ahead, you may not get a clear answer anyway. Ted encourages his patients to bring these ideas to their appointment or call to ask questions about them. Most doctors want to talk about this sort of thing.
“Bring them to the attention of your healthcare provider. You should at least be interested in looking it up to see if it applies. For lilac water, I haven’t seen it applied, but what’s interesting to me is that it’s mentioned Digestion [in medical literature] And it can help the process. [Doctors should] Accept the fact that the anti-inflammatory effects of some easily available things may also be good for you.
So lilac water may indeed help with some aspects of health, but it may not be the panacea TikTok suggests. And, before you start adding it to your daily routine, it’s best to be checked by your primary care doctor just to be safe.
