Cloves show up in a lot of “morning habit” health content lately. The usual claim: soak a few in water overnight, drink it, and your blood pressure comes down. I get asked about this constantly by clients who’ve seen it online. So I want to walk through what’s actually backed by research and what’s still just a promising theory.
The honest answer: possibly, through a real biological mechanism, but not yet proven in humans. Eugenol is the main active compound in cloves. In animal studies, it relaxes blood vessels by activating a channel in the cells lining your arteries. That’s a legitimate finding. Still, it hasn’t been tested in a human clinical trial specifically for blood pressure, not the way garlic or hibiscus extract have been.
| What we know | What we don’t know yet |
|---|---|
| Eugenol relaxes blood vessels in rat studies | Whether drinking clove water does this in humans |
| Cloves are extremely high in polyphenols and antioxidants | What dose, if any, produces a measurable BP change in people |
| Eugenol has real antibacterial and mild anesthetic effects | Whether oral clove use has any effect beyond the mouth |
Eugenol is the compound responsible for that intense, warm, slightly numbing flavor cloves are known for. It has documented antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. Cloves themselves also rank among the most polyphenol-dense foods ever measured, well ahead of most fruits and vegetables gram for gram.
Antioxidants matter here because oxidative stress plays a role in high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease generally. That connection is real. It just doesn’t automatically mean a cup of clove water moves the needle on your actual blood pressure reading.
A 2015 study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology found that eugenol activated a channel called TRPV4 in the endothelial cells lining rat arteries. That activation caused the vessels to dilate, and systemic blood pressure dropped as a result. This is a real, peer-reviewed mechanism, and it’s the strongest evidence behind the clove and blood pressure claim.
The catch: this was done in rats, using isolated eugenol, not people drinking clove-infused water. Human trials testing cloves or eugenol specifically for blood pressure are still lacking. Garlic and hawthorn, by contrast, have multiple randomized controlled trials behind them. I’d rather tell a client the truth here than oversell a kitchen habit as proven medicine.
If a client wants to try it anyway, here’s the routine I see most often. The key is doing it alongside actual low carb nutrition, not instead of it.
Moderation matters more than most people expect here. Three to five cloves per glass is plenty, since cloves are extremely concentrated. More is not better, and it isn’t necessary to see whatever benefit the habit might offer.
Yes, and this part has better evidence behind it. Cloves have documented antibacterial activity against the bacteria responsible for bad breath, gum inflammation, and plaque buildup. That’s exactly why clove oil has been used in dentistry for decades as a natural antiseptic and mild anesthetic. Chewing softened cloves after soaking is a genuinely reasonable way to support oral health, regardless of whatever happens with blood pressure.
Many people add cinnamon to the same glass or brew both as a tea. The combination tastes naturally warm and slightly sweet without any sugar. That makes it a decent swap for a sweetened drink if you’re cutting carbs. Cinnamon has its own separate research on insulin sensitivity, though results across studies are mixed and dose-dependent. So I treat the combination as a pleasant, sugar-free habit rather than a stacked metabolic intervention.
Cloves are generally safe as a food and occasional beverage ingredient, but a few groups should be cautious. Eugenol has mild blood-thinning properties. So talk to your doctor first if you’re on anticoagulant medication or have a bleeding disorder. Skip it, too, if you have a known clove allergy or a sensitive stomach that reacts to strong spices. And never use concentrated clove oil internally without medical guidance, since overdose has caused real liver and kidney injury in documented cases, mostly in children.
A handful of clients who already follow a structured low carb plan have added morning clove water on their own initiative, mostly after seeing it online. The consistent feedback isn’t dramatic blood pressure changes. It’s fresher breath, a bit less bloating, and a habit that feels good to start the day with. That’s a real result, just not the one the viral posts promise.
I’d rather set that expectation up front than let a client wait for a number on their home BP monitor to move because of clove water alone, especially when the actual driver of their blood pressure improvement is almost always the broader shift toward a lower-carb, lower-insulin way of eating, not one spice steeped overnight.
No, and I want to be direct about that. If you have diagnosed hypertension, clove water is not a treatment. It should never replace a prescribed medication or a doctor’s guidance. For the intervention with the strongest actual evidence behind it, look at diet instead. My breakdown of can a low carb diet lower blood pressure covers real clinical trial data, not a single mechanism study in rats.
Clove water pairs naturally with a low carb diet, since it adds flavor and a small ritual without any sugar or carbs attached. It’s not going to reverse insulin resistance or replace the fundamentals. But as a zero-carb morning habit that some clients genuinely enjoy, there’s little downside to trying it in moderation. If you need cloves for this and don’t already have a reliable source, see my guide on where to buy cloves and how to tell good ones from stale, low-quality batches.
There’s no established timeline, since no human trial has actually measured this. Anecdotally, people who like the habit often mention fresher breath and lighter digestion within the first week or two, well before anything related to blood pressure would be measurable.
Not meaningfully. Steeping cloves in hot water instead of cold overnight soaking releases similar compounds. Some people prefer the tea version in the evening and the cold-soaked version in the morning, purely as a matter of routine.
Whole is better here. Ground cloves cloud the water more and are harder to strain out, and whole buds release their compounds gradually over the soak instead of all at once.
There’s no documented interaction specific to clove water and BP medications, but eugenol’s mild blood-thinning effect means you should mention it to your doctor if you’re on blood thinners or anticoagulants, regardless of your blood pressure status.
Generally yes, since cloves themselves carry no meaningful carbs and don’t spike blood sugar. The bigger factor for that combination is always the overall eating pattern, not the clove water. If you’re managing both conditions, focus your energy on the diet changes with actual trial data behind them first, and treat the spice as a small extra, not the plan itself.
Cloves are a genuinely interesting spice with real bioactive compounds behind them, but the responsible answer is that clove water is a small, low-risk habit worth trying for its own sake, not a proven blood pressure treatment. For the food swaps and staples that actually move the needle on metabolic health, browse our organic low carb store.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, supplements, or treatment plan, especially if you have hypertension, a bleeding disorder, or take prescription medication.
