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| SPORTS & WELLNESS |
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Clash
of equals
Chilli
chocs to cut calories Worth the
weight! |
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Clash
of equals
For Team India, it’s the biggest match of this World Cup today. If they can beat South Africa in Nagpur, it will give us a fair idea of this team’s strength. So far, in this World Cup, India have played against some good teams but not a strong and balanced side like the South Africans. In a sense, both teams — India and SA — are somewhat similar. Both have solid batsmen at the top and both have a couple of match-winners in the bowling department as well. But there’s a difference between these sides as well — South Africa have not responded very well to the tag of chokers that has been attached to them for quite a while now. Their team is very talented and all that but whenever the heat is turned on, the Proteas kind of wilt and whither. Or so it seems. This brittle quality of the South Africans was visible once again in their match against England a few days ago, when they failed to get past the line in another tight situation. The Proteas for their part detest this tag (of chokers) and say it’s an unfair assessment of their mental strength or lack of it. On the other side, Team India will also be under some pressure of ‘great expectations from a vast audience on home soil’ and all that sort of thing. So, this match in Nagpur will tell us which of these two ‘strong’ teams can handle pressure better. We are now at the half-way
stage of this big event and only three teams (out of 14) have not tasted
defeat so far. These three teams are — Australia, Pakistan and India.
While the talk from most experts so far has been about teams from the
subcontinent, Australia have quietly done their own thing and are
heading in the right direction. Their team has been further strengthened
with the inclusion of Mike Hussey, who has replaced the injured Doug
Bollinger. The Aussies have been world champions on the last three
occasions and will be a hard to beat this time around as well.
Pakistan have responded in great fashion to all challenges that have been thrown at them so far in the tournament. Their skipper Shahid Afridi is the leading wicket-taker in this World Cup and his leadership has been inspirational. Their team surely looks determined and has more than a few match-winners. As we head into the business stage of this World Cup, apart from these three teams, SA and Sri Lanka also seem to have the goods to make it to the semi-final stage. According to what we have seen so far, these five teams seem to possess more firepower than the others. India are on track but till now their captain M. S. Dhoni has shown an arrogant and adamant streak. This streak can prove costly as the competition is beginning to hot up now. The whole world (almost) has questioned the logic of including the listless, ineffective and expensive Piyush Chawla in the Playing XI. But, against all logic, Dhoni has included Chawla in the first three games and in all those matches, Chawla has proved to be an embarrassment for his skipper. Now, for this all-important game against South Africa today, Dhoni needs to think hard about the winning combination and leave emotions and personal likes aside. South Africa are keen to shed the tag of chokers and India are equally keen to stamp their authority on the tournament before the knockout phase begins. India can take a giant leap towards the Cup if they defeat South Africa today.
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Chilli
chocs to cut calories
Called dihydrocapsiate (DHC), it is tasteless and speeds up the body's metabolism, helping it use up more calories, reports the Daily Mail. It is one of several
chemical compounds known as capsinoids found in a particular variety of
chilli and is already sold in the form of diet supplement pills in the
US and Japan.
Now, a Japanese food firm Ajinomoto has submitted plans to the Food Standards Agency watchdog with the aim of adding it to chocolate bars, desserts and ready meals targeted towards dieters. The FSA has recently declared the extract safe. However, dieticians say that eating the foods won't really have any effect. They claim that in reality, a person weighing 15 stone consuming the recommended portions of foods containing DHC would probably burn off only 50 extra calories a day — the equivalent of a digestive biscuit. Ajinomoto plans to make the ingredient synthetically as only very small amounts can be derived from chilli peppers. Up to 3mg would be added to a portion of food — the amount of extract found in 10 chillies. The firm insisted it was not trying to claim people would be able to lose weight simply by eating their food. It would have to be part of an overall healthy diet and active lifestyle to achieve results. Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said it was a "very interesting idea." "But as ever, the proof is in the pudding," he added. — ANI
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Worth the
weight!
Jennifer Hudson, who looked stunning at the Oscars in her orange Atelier Versace gown, has sparked furious debate since stepping out looking slimmer than ever on the big night. Nutritionists said that the 29-year-old, who has lost 80lb, had gone too far with her weight-loss regime, while a consensus among an Allure magazine writer's friends found her to be "too thin". "Jennifer Hudson's appearance left me wondering how far she has pushed the Weight Watchers diet," the Daily Mail quoted dietitian Marisa Sherry as telling CBS News. "She looks good, but each time I see her she seems to be getting skinnier and skinnier and she's now at the point where I would start to question how far she will go," Sherry said. Allure editorial assistant Alison Caporimo recalled comments made about the actress and singer at an Oscar's party. She told how one friend mused: "I think she might be too thin, you know? I liked her better when she was in the middle: not overweight, but not too skinny." And Hollyscoop called Hudson's weight-loss "a disappearing act". Its article wrote: "Jennifer Hudson has pulled a disappearing act on us. She was so svelte in her tangerine orange Versace dress at the Oscars, she nearly vanished when she turned to the side." — ANI |
Imagine
