FOR all those planning to gorge on sugar-free sweets this year, the few options available in the markets come with a bitter pill — high prices ranging between Rs 450-800. Stuffed with ghee and dry fruits, it is not a healthy option for many. So, if you are diabetic or just plain calorie-concious, moderation is the keyword and homemade sweets, a better option.

Most sweet shops around the city have stayed away from sugar-free sweets this year as they failed to find many takers last year. Only two-three shops offer ‘sugar-free’ sweets, and these too for a high price. Even the bakeries have not stocked up sugar-free goodies this year. A select few that offer low-calorie and sugar-free goodies are doing so only as per orders received.

Not only are the sweets high-priced, most of it are made in ghee, stuffed with dry fruits and other carbohydrates, rendering them unhealthy for diabetics and weight-watchers.

Dr Vinod Abichandani, a practising diabetologist in the city, says: ‘‘I always find that the blood sugar levels of almost 20 to 25 per cent of my patients increase after Diwali. This happens due to binge-eating of sweets.’’

He further adds, ‘‘I do not advise my patients to stay away from sweets completely, but I do suggest moderation. I am a bit more stict about my hyper-diabetic patients as their sugar levels can increase with intake of salt as well. So, these patients should stay away from farsaan and namkeen during Diwali.”

Abichandani also advocates regular monitoring of diabetics during the festivities, asking these patients to take advice from their doctors on the diet-plan they should follow. He says, ‘‘Homemade sugar-free sweets are a good option for diabetics instaed of buying such sweets from outside.’’

Echoing similar thoughts, Dr Bansi Saboo, another practising diabetologist, says: ‘‘The sugar-free variant of sweets hardly help patients as these are full of ghee, dry fruits and other ingredients that are harmful for diabetics and the obese.”

He adds, ‘‘The only way one can keep their diabetes under control is to eat sweets in moderation. If they binge on sweets they think are ‘sugar-free’ they are likely to suffer from high-sugar level after the festivities are over. Hyper-diabetic patients should also keep a check on their salt intake.”

Source: Expressindia.com

SOON you will be able to compare your salary with those of your counterparts in other cities, organisations and countries, all thanks to a new website — www.paycheck.in — that is being developed as part of a research initiative of IIM-A, IISc, Bangalore and IT Professionals Forum of India, Bangalore.

And it is not just the salary description of blue-collared jobs that will be available online for a person to check where s/he stands in terms of getting salary; the website also includes a section on ‘minimum wage checkers’ that will indicate the minimum wage paid in different states of the country. The website, a part of a series of websites launched with international collaboration across the world, is one of the two websites that include the minimum wage checkers, with the other one being launched in The Netherlands.

‘‘The new and improved wage data that will be made online through the website will help trade unions. Employers in IT, manufacturing and finance sectors will also decide the wage structure of employees,’’ said Biju Varkkey, faculty at IIM-A who is also working on the project. The project, that is being conducted in 15 differnt countries under the supervision of Wageindicator network, is being funded by the European Union.

The project aims at facilitating wage bargaining by providing a deeper insight into wage structures across occupations, companies, industries, regions and countries. Also, once the data is completed, a study will be conducted that will focus on a comparative wage structure in multinational enterprises in various countries. The site also aims at reflecting the constraits and limitations faced by workers in the informal sector, which it will eventually follow. Researchers in the country are currently preparing an updated data of minimum wage earned by workers in agricultural and non-agricultural occupations.

‘‘We have contacted the labour ministry of different states for uploading the data on the minimum wage structure. We have already received most of the data and will be uploading it soon,’’ Varkkey said. Paycheck.in is currently gathering data through an online questionnaire so reliable wage information could be provided to those visiting the site.

‘‘We launched the website in February and asked people to participate voluntarily in the questionnaire, so that we could provide an updated salary checker in IT, manufacturing and finance sector,’’ Varkkey further said.

Currently, the site has uploaded pay-checks offered by different sectors prepared by an organisation called Ma Foi. ‘‘We will be able to upload our own data once enough questionnaires are filled,’’ Varkkey said.

Once the data falls in place, a detailed research will be conducted based on the data available from all 15 countries that will focus on the average salary per person, average salary per occupation, salary differences related to region, gender and country apart from giving site visitors a chance to peek into the their own earnings and compare them with other users, informed Varkkey.

Source: Expressindia.com