Studies has shown that the first “Baby Boomers” in this country reached 65 years old in 2011.

Since then, there’s been a rapid increase in the size of the 65-year-old “retirement generation.”

In fact, no other age group segment is growing as fast.

The average age of the American public, is now approaching 39 years old. That may sound young, but not that long ago (in the early 60’s) the average age in this country was 29.5 years old.

That’s nearly a 10 years difference.

Thankfully, life expectancy has also risen during that same time period from 69.8 years old to 79.05 years old.

That fact should come as no surprise, as you’ve no doubt seen senior and assisted living communities popping up all over town like Starbucks stores back in the 90’s.

There’s no shortage of reasons for this remarkable increase in expected longevity these past 60 years, but better health care, advances in science and medicines and, for many, better awareness of what’s best to eat, lead the list.

Eating “better” is a “catch all” phrase that can mean many things, but high among the dietary changes that many people are making to increase the likelihood of living a long, healthy life, is reducing their sodium intake.

Sodium itself isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s an essential mineral that we all need to live. It’s actually produced by our own body and helps us to regulate many things that go on inside our bodies, including balancing fluid levels, dehydration and blood pressure.

It also serves an important role in our nerve impulses.

Yet, even as we make attempt to monitor our salt intake, it seems to be everywhere.

It’s in nearly all our processed foods and even more sinister, stares at us, housed innocently in little shakers, on nearly every dinner table we sit at.

It’s something we’ve grown up with, and something we’ve just gotten used to, even to the extent that many of us salt our food even before we taste it.

Unfortunately, as we’ve all been told by medical authorities, too much sodium in your diet can eventually cause health issues such as high blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease and stroke.

But here’s the good news.

See that “other” little shaker? The one next to the salt?

If you think of the colors of white as angelic and black as evil and darkness, you’ve got it backwards.

Pepper is the Angel.

Substituting herbs and spices in place of some if not all the salt in recipes adds new aromas, tastes, colors and provides an extra bonus of healthy vitamins and nutrients.

And some spices, actually have some anti-inflammatory properties.

That’s 5 things right there that salt just can’t match.

Offering customers low sodium items on your menus is a trend that is continuing to gain popularity as more and more people are finding herbs and spices to be a healthy alternative to salt.

Asmus can help, and not just with a no-salt Italian seasoning blend. Maybe try a Mexican seasoning blend with chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano? Or an Indian blend with turmeric, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, ground mustard, coriander and black pepper?

At Asmus, seasonings are our business. We know how to “spice things up.”

Yes, some of our blends do have salt. But we also carry blends without salt, and per your request, we can also custom blend spices to suit you and your customer’s needs.

Another example of an Asmus seasoning solution created to assist your company in providing healthy alternatives to meet your customer’s dietary goals.

*This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment. You should always consult your medical doctor or other qualified healthcare professionals if you have queries regarding your health.