What are immunity balls
They're small (~15g), round (duh), potent (extremely), tasty ...well...balls. And they come in two varieties - Anti-Inflammation and Anti-Oxidation.
Each ball is jam-packed with ingredients (Turmeric, Matcha, Star Anise, Cranberries etc) that make it extremely effective in combating inflammations and oxidative stress within the body.
Consume them as a system (one in the morning and one at night), and you pretty much have everything that food can do to strengthen immunity, covered.
Ofcourse, in the absence of deep sleep and regular exercise and good hygiene, these balls can't do much. But bring all those to the party... and these balls are literally AMAZEBALLS!
Go on! Give 'em a try!
The Anti-Oxidative
Matcha is a type of powdered, green tea. It contains a concentrated and very potent class of antioxidants known as catechins. These are super-healthy bioactive compounds known to help reduce formation of free radicals in the body, protecting it from molecular damage.
Fun Fact
Anti-oxidative potency is measured in ORAC units. One gram of matcha tea powder = 1,384 ORAC units. In comparison, broccoli has 31, acai berries have 55, and pomegranate has 105.
Amongst fruits and vegetables, cranberries have the highest level of phenols, a type of antioxidant. They also have high levels of antioxidant proanthocyanidins (PACs) which help prevent certain bacteria from causing infection in the urinary tract.
Fun Fact
ORAC unit of cranberries = ~9500/100 g of fruit. Highest in fruits and vegetables.
The Anti-Inflammatory
Turmeric (aka Haldi) is one of the strongest anti-inflammatory spices found in nature. It’s main active ingredient is Curcumin – a potent compound that gives turmeric its unique yellow color, as well as it’s anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Fun Fact
To derive turmeric’s full anti-inflammatory benefits, consume it with black pepper.
Star-anise aka (Chakra Phool) comes from an evergreen tree native to Vietnam and China. The star ingredient in star-anise is Shikimic acid. Which, btw, is the main ingredient in Tamiflu - the world’s most widely used anti-viral drug for nasties such as swine flu, bird flu and regular flu.
Fun Fact
90% of star anise plant production is used for the extraction of shikimic acid which is an active ingredient in many flu medications.
Matcha is a type of powdered, green tea. It contains a concentrated and very potent class of antioxidants known as catechins. These are super-healthy bioactive compounds known to help reduce formation of free radicals in the body, protecting it from molecular damage.
Fun Fact
Anti-oxidative potency is measured in ORAC units. One gram of matcha tea powder = 1,384 ORAC units. In comparison, broccoli has 31, acai berries have 55, and pomegranate has 105.
Amongst fruits and vegetables, cranberries have the highest level of phenols, a type of antioxidant. They also have high levels of antioxidant proanthocyanidins (PACs) which help prevent certain bacteria from causing infection in the urinary tract.
Fun Fact
ORAC unit of cranberries = ~9500/100 g of fruit. Highest in fruits and vegetables.
Turmeric (aka Haldi) is one of the strongest anti-inflammatory spices found in nature. It’s main active ingredient is Curcumin – a potent compound that gives turmeric its unique yellow color, as well as it’s anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
Fun Fact
To derive turmeric’s full anti-inflammatory benefits, consume it with black pepper.
Star-anise aka (Chakra Phool) comes from an evergreen tree native to Vietnam and China. The star ingredient in star-anise is Shikimic acid. Which, btw, is the main ingredient in Tamiflu - the world’s most widely used anti-viral drug for nasties such as swine flu, bird flu and regular flu.
Fun Fact
90% of star anise plant production is used for the extraction of shikimic acid which is an active ingredient in many flu medications.
Experts Endorse Us
The balls are a delicious power packed snack guaranteed to boost immunity and satiate hunger pangs. They make a great snack for me in-between my appointments and workouts. When I recommend them to my clients, it is very comforting to know every bite contains real ingredients :)
Maitreyi Bokil
Nutritionist and Exercise Physiologist
As a doctor, I always believe prevention is better than cure. This is especially true in the time of this global pandemic. While there are many aspects to immunity building, these immunity balls can be a great supplement in that process. The ingredients are all conducive to better immune health, and I would recommend that everyone taking care of their health consume these.
Dr. Madhuri Kulkarni, M.D.
Professor and H.O.D., Pharmacology, Government Medical College Aurangabad
When you hear immunity balls – first impression is bitter and boring BUT it turned out to be yummy and delicious. It was love at first BITE! Both the anti-inflammatory and oxidative balls are packed with ingredients that not only nourish but also enrich the body. The spices aid digestion, improve gut function and cleanse the body from within. Great as a snack not only for adults but kids too.
Shilpa V. Amin
Nutritionist and Wellness Coach
Shraddha Naik
I have for long, been wanting to eat healthy for immunity sake. But ‘haldi doodh’ and ‘chawanprash’ are some things that make me gag for real. Why does heath come at the torture of taste? ANE’s immunity bite is the answer to it all. It has way more of real honest natural ingredients than I would ever get around to consuming in a day – and i couldn’t believe how yum it tastes. Power packed taste health bomb!
Shraddha Naik
Mayank Marothi
I have a 1.5 year old kid. We are giving some of these ingredients in the form of paste to improve her immunity but it’s really tough to make her eat it. I made her taste the immunity balls and she instantly loved them! This product is fab 🙂
Mayank Marothi
TT Venkat
The immunity balls dialed back the clock to my grandmother’s kitchen during Diwali. I remember lining my stomach with ‘Lehiyam’, her magical Diwali medicine, which helped the body digest the flurry of sweets and snacks that were going to hit my body and keep me from feeling bloated.
ANE’s immunity balls are sure to take you back to a place of warmth, comfort and gastronomic delight!
TT Venkat
Radhika Muralidhara
Loved the immunity balls. They reminded me of my grandmom’s “poushtik til laddus” packed with the goodness of rich ingredients that would see us through our energetic childhood days.
Radhika Muralidhara
FAQs
Immunity is the body’s ability to fight viruses and bacteria. And the Immune System is what does this fighting.
Did you know that fever, sneezing, inflammations - are all immunity responses!? Fever is nothing but the body raising its temperature to kill a virus. Sneezing is the body expelling viruses from the respiratory tract. Infact your skin, nasal hair, saliva etc are all part of what’s called the Innate Immune System. It’s the part of immunity that’s always at work, without you even noticing.
The second part is called Adaptive Immune system. When we think about boosting immunity, or anti-bodies and vaccines, it’s this part we’re usually thinking of. Made up of White Blood Cells (WBCs), anti-bodies, B-lymphocytes, T-lymphocytes, bone marrow, spleen etc — it’s a complex response system that we very loosely refer to as the Immune System.
Viruses that pass the Innate System and require a specific response, are attacked by the adaptive system. And it has immunological memory, i.e. once it has encountered a specific pathogen, it’ll be prepared the next time.
Unfortunately, we’re facing a virus we’ve never faced before. And hence, we need to strengthen our Immune System.
Well, ‘boost’ is a misleading word, so we don’t like using it.
Did you know that no matter what you do, you can NOT increase the number of White Blood Cells in your system! Yes, that’s your Immunity army and you can do nothing to ‘boost’ its size.
But yes, you can definitely strengthen your existing troops. By doing 4 simple things. Sleep 8 hours, exercise for 30 mins, reduce constant stress from your life, and eat right. Where the definition of right, in relation to immunity, is eating anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant rich foods.
Remember, food alone can NOT strengthen Immunity. If you’re not exercising and sleeping right, nothing will help. And don’t let any person or brand tell you otherwise.
Anti-Oxidants (AO) are good guys. Free Radicals (FR) are bad guys. This is fake news.
Did you know that in a healthy body, there exists a balance of AO & FR.
Free Radicals, as the name suggests, are unstable molecules that are highly reactive. When in balance, they react with dead cells and help cleanse the body. But if they become excessive, they can go around damaging even good cells. AKA, weakened immunity!
This excess FR situation, is what we call Oxidative Stress. Bad diet, pesticides in our food, pollution, chronic stress - all lead to oxidative stress in the body!
And the only way to combat it, is to restore the AO & FR balance. To ingest AO heavy foods, because only AOs can keep FRs in check.
So AOs & FRs aren’t good guys & bad guys! They’re more Yin & Yang. Seemingly opposite, but incomplete without the other.
And eating AO rich food = reducing oxidative stress = restoring AO & FR balance = stronger immunity. Voila!
Did you know, inflammations are actually an Immune response!
When you get an external or internal (gut) wound, the body reacts by increasing local temperature in that area (inflammation). The heat kills pathogens and helps with healing.
Unfortunately, given how chemical-laden modern-day food is, our gut is getting wounded all the time. And to heal it, the body is producing inflammations all the time. Healing each wound is like fighting a small battle. And fighting so many battles, continuously, weakens our immunity-army.
That’s why we need anti-inflammatory foods. Not because they reduce inflammations, but because they reduce the need for inflammations.
And lesser inflammation = lower immune-resource utilization = stronger immunity. Voila!
Vitamin C is great! But it’s not some magical, Immunity boosting pill.
It’s a very important Vitamin for Immunity, no doubt. Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system.
But, unless you were Vit C deficient to begin with, up-dosing on it doesn’t seem to increase your ability to fight even common cold (read this)
A large part of the Vitamin C craze is just American marketing fueled frenzy (like so much else in the ‘health & fitness’ world). It’s not a bad thing. It just isn’t as good as it’s made out to be.
The anti-oxidative balls are a powerhouse of 11 antioxidants such as matcha green tea, cranberries, mixed seeds, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger, coconut, cardamom, almonds, peanuts and black raisins. They also have dates for sweetness and sea salt for flavor.
The anti-inflammatory balls have 14 spices, herbs and nuts that have anti-inflammatory properties. They are turmeric, star anise, black cardamom, clove, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, fennel, ginger powder, black pepper, sesame, almonds, cashews and black raisins. They also have dates for sweetness and sea salt for flavor.
Food plays only 2 roles in strengthening Immunity. Anti-Inflammation and Anti-Oxidation. And that’s how we designed these two balls. Almost like anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative shots.
They were designed as a system, to complement each other. And that’s how we recommend consuming them. One (anti-oxidative) in the morning and one (anti-inflammatory) at night.
Ofcourse you can have more if you like (we’re told the taste grows on you!). The important thing is making it a habit. Remember, when it comes to Immunity, everyday is everything.
Nope. Absolutely not.
These balls do everything that food can do to strengthen Immunity. But food alone can’t do much. 8hrs of deep sleep, 30mins exercise and managing chronic stress – these 3, along with food, complete the Circle of Immunity.
Standalone the balls aren’t enough. But complete the Immunity Circle, and they’re AMAZEBALLS!
It is perfectly safe for children above the age of 5 and elders to consume these immunity balls.
Infact, we’d highly recommend them for elders. They’re the most vulnerable at these times, and we have a strong feeling they will love the taste of these.
Not to mention, the balls have no added sugar, no preservatives, no soy, no gluten. Nothing bad whatsoever. So there’s no reason not to have ‘em!
Store in a cool and dry place. No need to refrigerate them.
Yes! They are completely plant-based! They’re also gluten-free and soy-free and any sort of chemical-free. They’re just not free-free (because we too have kids to feed )
