Cloves come from a flower and even flowers can be considered Paleo (they are plants, after all). In this case, the buds are dried, sometimes ground, and used as a spice, which can be added to all kinds of food. Like most spices, cloves lay claim to certain health benefits and have been widely used in traditional medicine to cure a number of ailments. Chinese medicine has been known to use cloves to cure everything from digestive problems to morning sickness to inflammation.
Even today, Western doctors continue to advise the use of cloves to cure toothache pain. The buds are also understood to have antioxidant properties and may be effective as a fever reducer.
Even if cloves can’t live up to all of the health benefits that the ancient Chinese claimed they have, it’s almost always a good idea to add spices to your food. If nothing else, they make your food more enjoyable, giving you just one more reason to enjoy good Paleo fare.
Mark Sisson provides a list of foods that make great additions to any Paleo meal on his blog.
