Sharon Gerdes

Protein is hot. According to a recent survey by the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Arlington, Va., 54% of U.S. consumers say they are trying to get more protein in their diet. One way for consumers to boost the protein content of their diet is via protein drinks. Whether they are high-acid or low-acid, chocolate or vanilla, fruit-flavored or coffee-based, virtually all protein drinks contain a sweetener.

High levels of dietary sodium can increase blood pressure. But the health consequences of population-wide sodium reduction are still the subject of some debate. Americans consume on average 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily.

The first baby boomers turned 65 in 2011. As more of the boomer generation reaches retirement age, the number of consumers 65-plus in the United States will burgeon from 40 million in 2010 to 72 million in 2030. Similar statistics can be seen around the world, with the highest percentages of seniors in Japan and Western Europe, and the highest population of seniors in China, whose citizenry swelled to 132 million people age 65-plus in 2011.