Rotational crunches are not the best exercise for your obliques, a Westfield State University study found. Classic crunches work the muscles on the sides of your torso twice as hard as bringing your elbow to your opposite knee. “The rotational crunch doesn’t produce enough force or speed to maximise muscle activation,” says study author Christopher Paul, DC, CSCS. But don’t do crunches on your back. Instead, target your obhques with the medicine-ball slam. Hold a medicine ball overhead, with your knees slightly bent. Reach hack and then slam the ball to the floor in front of you without rounding your lower back. Complete three sets of 15 repetitions.

The digestive system is a workhorse of the human body. When it breaks down, so do you. Here’s how to calm the most common belly beasts

A SOUR STOMACH

Where it hurts: Stomach, below the rib cage.

How it feels: Rhythmic, burning pain when you’re hungry. DIY diagnosis: An ulcer. Painkillers and the bacteria He/icobacter pylon could be culprits. Your strategy: Chuck the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Aspirin and ibuprofen impair your stomach’s defences, letting acid burn through the lining. Treating pain? Take them with food.

A STITCH IN YOUR SIDE

Where it hurts: Gall bladder, in the upper rightabdomen, nearthe bottom of your ribs.
How it feels: Steady, sharp pain that rapidly intensifies for 30 minutes or more.

DIY diagnosis: Gallstones-cholesterol that has hardened to form small pellets.
Your strategy: Sound them out- ask your doctor for an ultrasound of your gall bladder. Most stones can be removed laparoscopically. The only way to avoid surgery is to prevent them in the first place. Your best defence is your diet. Men who eat the most saturated fat (who usually have large waistlines) are at the greatest risk.

CLOGGED PLUMBING

Where it hurts: The lower section of your intestines, just below your navel. How it feels: Uncomfortably tull, yet your bowels won’t budge. DIY diagnosis: Constipation. Your strategies: Swig soda.

Drinking carbonated water relieves constipation, according to Italian researchers. And hit the road. Research from the University of Washington shows that regular exercise helps your body move stool through the intestines.

Social activist Anna Hazare along with his associates have been released from Tihar jail. Confirming this Public Relation Officer of Tihar Jail Sunil Gupta said that Team Anna has been released after receiving proper orders from Delhi Police.

Mr. Gupta informed that Anna Hazare has refused to come out of jail unless he is allowed to carry out his indefinite fast at JP Park in the National capital. His other associates have already come out of the jail.

Mr. Hazare was taken into custody yesterday morning on grounds of apprehension of breach of peace following his intention to defy prohibitory orders to go on indefinite fast. Later he was sent to Jail after he was produced before a Special Executive Magistrate and refused to give the undertaking.

Anna’s associates Kiran Bedi and Shanti Bhushan, who were detained, were also released.

Earlier, Opposition Parties had demanded immediate release of Anna Hazare. They also demanded a statement from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament on his arrest. The demand was made after a meeting of leaders of various political parties including Sitaram Yechuri of CPM, Gurudas Dasgupta and D.Raja of CPI, Shailendra Kumar of Samajwadi Party, Raghuvamsh Prasad Singh of RJD and Mysoora Reddy of TDP besides NDA partners.

Talking to reporters following the meeting, CPIM leader Seetaram Yechury said that they wanted the Prime Minister to explain the government’s action in both the Houses.

In a separate briefing, senior BJP leader, Mrs Sushma Swaraj echoed similar sentiments. However, there was no consensus amongst the opposition parties on boycotting the parliament on the issue.

Strongly defending Anna Hazare’s custody, the Home Minister Mr. P.Chidambaram had earlier said that the government was not happy with the conditions imposed by the Delhi Police.

But it was a painful decision to detain Anna as he and his supporters had made it public that they will defy the prohibitory orders.

Mr. Chidambaram however made it clear that the government is not against holding any demonstration or peaceful protest.

Talking to a private TV channel, Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, asserted that only Jan Lokpal Bill will not root out corruption. She said, the anguish of the people is understandable and several measures have to be taken for combating the menace of corruption.

Calm your nerves Constant worry about your health can be incredibly tiring. Take charge of your life by foflowing these steps

• Before rushing to a specialist, have a heart-to-heart with your family doctor. He understands your family’s medical history better than any specialist.
• Have faith in your GP’s judgment. He knows more about medicine than you do. Don’t bombard him with your half-baked knowledge from Internet trawling.
• Keep a diary of confusing symptoms, aches and pains and any questions that you might have—and ask them all at one go wher you meet your doctor.
• Don’t schedule medical tests at whim, or without checking with your GP first. It makes much more sense to run a full battery of tests once every year to keep tabs on your health.
• Increase your physical activity. By exercising more, you will lower the levels of stress hormones in your body. And by reducing stress, you will tackle the primary cause of your problems.
• Meditate. It lets you enter a state of peace and quiet reflection, calming your body and mind. You can do it while praying, doing yoga or tai chi, listening to music or just sitting cross-legged on the floor with incense and candles.
• Never try to bury grief. It often causes severe symptoms later. Recognising and dealing with grief is the tricky part. You can’t avoid it, no matter how hard you try. But if you can deal with grief heed on, you will emerge even stronger.

Shellfish reasons

Oysters may get you in the mood for love, but they could also help build strong, healthy bones. “Humans and oysters share the capacity for self-repair,” said Christian Millet of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. “A human bone heals, as does a cracked oyster shell. We believe mother-of-pearl can be used to stimulate bone growth.” Millet’s team found that nacre— the shiny substance in oyster shells, aka mother-of-pearl— speeds up the human bone- building process, and because it’s natural, there’s less chance the body will reject it. Human trials have been conducted.

When doctors need to prop open a narrowed artery, they often choose to insert a stent. But sometimes medication can do the same job with fewer risks. To ensure the best heart treatment for yourself or a loved one, ask the surgeon to suppLement an angiogram with the “fractional fLow reserve” test, which measures blood pressure and flow at the narrowed point. In a recent Dutch study, patients who underwent both tests received one-third fewer stents than an angiogramonly group—and had 35 percent fewer heart attacks over the following year.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Iceland’s most active volcano has started erupting, scientists said Saturday — just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days.

Iceland’s Meteorological Office confirmed that an eruption had begun at the Grimsvotn volcano, accompanied by a series of small earthquakes. Smoke could be seen rising from the volcano, which lies under the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in southeast Iceland.

The eruption was followed by around 50 small earthquakes, the largest of which measured 3.7 on the Richter Scale, according to Iceland’s meteorological office.

There was a similar eruption at the same volcano in 2004.

Scientists don’t believe this eruption will lead to air travel chaos like that caused by ash from the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April 2010

They often cause local flooding from melting glacier ice, but rarely cause deaths.

Last year’s Eyjafjallajokul eruption left millions of air travelers stranded after winds pushed the ash cloud toward some of the world’s busiest airspace and led most northern European countries to ground all planes for five days.

The DMK MP and daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharad Kumar have been denied bail by a Special CBI court in the 2G Spectrum case.

The court ordered their immediate arrest, and asked to be produced before it at 10 am on Saturday.

Both of them have been charge sheeted by CBI for allegedly conspiring with former Telecom minister Raja, the key accused in the case. The court had earlier, reserved its order on their bail pleas for May 14, and subsequently postponed it till Friday.

Kanimozhi has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act for taking bribe through Kalaignar TV, a channel run by DMK in which a sum of 200 crore rupees was routed from Shahid Usman Balwa’s firm DB Realty.

Kanimozhi and Kumar hold 20 per cent stakes each in Kalaignar TV while former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal holds 60 per cent share in it.

The long legged beauty Anushka Sharma was seen in lovely Punjabi outfits in most of her movies and now she is going to unleash the wild cat inside her. News is that the pretty girl is all set to don the bikini in her new movie. She would be pairing up with Ranveer Singh in this one. Sources reveal that Anushka is already on the job and she is busy shaping up her body to get the right kind of curves and give a visual feast on the screen.

Though the audience has seen her in a modern avatar in ‘Badmaash Company’ but Anushka is best remembered by her fans in Punjabi patialas and traditional outfits. Yash Raj Films, the producer of the film, have already told her to tone up to get a fab bikini body.

The sizzling chemistry between the lead pair is already apparent and with Anushka now flaunting her perfectly toned body in a hot bikini, her fans have much to look forward to in ‘Ladies vs Ricky Bahl’.

Anushka Sharma is all set for an image makeover it seems. The model turned actress, who is best remembered for her portrayal of an ambitious college student on ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ is all set to flaunt a bikini in her next film. The actress will be seen in a sexy little number in ‘Ladies vs Ricky Bahl’ co–starring ‘good friend’ Ranveer Singh.

The pictures of Deepika Padukone’s new item number in Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum are out, and the actress looks quite hot in them.

The look, of course, is a result of many hours well spent in the gym.

But is she as sexy as Malaika Arora Khan’s Munni and Katrina Kaif’s Sheila Ki Jawani?

Initially, Dips was supposed to wear a short skirt for the song but her dance movements looked very awkward.

The actress apparently requested Rohan Sippy to consider a change of dress. So designer Anahita Adajania Shroff changed her mini to hot pants with tassels.

Even though Deepika only has an item number in the film, she’s the film’s poster girl, much to the annoyance of leading lady Bipasha Basu.

The film also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Prateik Babbar.