Know2eat

Bay leaf

Laurus nobilis

What bay leaf has been studied for

1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.

  • 1 Insufficient
3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About bay leaf

The dried leaf of the Mediterranean laurel tree, simmered in stocks and stews and lifted out before serving. The USDA entry is per 100 g of dried leaf, which is a wildly theoretical amount — a single leaf weighs a fraction of a gram, and most of it is never eaten.

Also known as bay leaf, bay laurel, sweet bay, laurel leaf

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Insufficient

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Blood glucose response

Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
Insufficient evidence

A small trial of ground bay leaf capsules, at one to three grams a day for a month in people with type 2 diabetes, reported lower fasting glucose and improved lipids. It is essentially a single small study that has not been convincingly replicated, and the dose is several times what a pot of stew delivers, since the leaf is discarded rather than eaten.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Bay leaf

Ask about Bay leaf

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories313 kcal16%
Protein7.61 g15%
Total fat8.36 g11%
Carbohydrate75 g27%
Fibre26.3 g94%
Water5.44 g—
Fats
Saturated fat2.28 g11%
Monounsaturated fat1.64 g—
Polyunsaturated fat2.29 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)1.24 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A309 µg34%
Vitamin C46.5 mg52%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.0090 mg1%
Riboflavin (B2)0.421 mg32%
Niacin (B3)2 mg13%
Vitamin B61.74 mg102%
Folate180 µg45%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium834 mg64%
Iron43 mg239%
Magnesium120 mg29%
Phosphorus113 mg9%
Potassium529 mg11%
Sodium23 mg1%
Zinc3.7 mg34%
Copper0.416 mg46%
Manganese8.17 mg355%
Selenium2.8 µg5%
Other measured compounds
Ash3.62 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Spices, bay leaf (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 170917).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • boiledIncreases aroma compound extraction

    Bay is one of the few leaf herbs that needs long, wet heat: its aroma compounds sit in tough leaf tissue and take a sustained simmer to move into the liquid. Adding it at the end achieves very little.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Whole leaves are a genuine choking and perforation hazard

    Dried bay leaves stay stiff and sharp-edged after hours of simmering. Case reports describe leaves lodging in the throat and oesophagus and, rarely, perforating the gut wall. The traditional advice to remove the leaf before serving is a safety instruction, not a garnish convention.

  • Worth knowing

    Other trees are also called bay

    California bay and, more dangerously, cherry laurel and mountain laurel are sold or foraged under overlapping names. Cherry laurel leaves release cyanide compounds and mountain laurel contains cardiotoxic grayanotoxins. Only Laurus nobilis is a culinary bay leaf.

  • Allergy

    Contact dermatitis in handlers

    Bay laurel contains sesquiterpene lactones and is a recognised cause of occupational contact dermatitis in cooks and herb workers.