One clove a day is plenty unless you want to do a bowel flush. The protocol for the bowel flush (provoked bm) is about 3 cloves a day. This will have you flush the content of your bowel into a bowel movement, the following day.... 5 cloves a day on a regular basis is extreme, consider using a bit less as it is not a good idea to do bowel flushes many days in a row (after all, you need to assimilate a bit of your food).