But It Tastes So Good

Omaha, Nebraska is a test market for KFC's Double Down, described as "a sandwich made of two original recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken breast filets, two slices of cheese, two pieces of bacon and something called “Colonel's Sauce.” And no bun."

The reporter decided to check things out himself:

Out of curiosity, I had my cholesterol and triglycerides checked at a Creighton Medical Associates Clinic before lunch and three hours afterward, without having anything else to eat or drink.

Blood fats called triglycerides shot up from 136 to 213. HDL cholesterol, the good kind, sank from 50 to 39. Non-HDL cholesterol, the bad kind, went up from 144 to 154.

Those were significant changes from a single sandwich, said Dr. Scott Shurmur, a cardiologist and the director of the Lipid Clinic at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

The effects of eating one such sandwich should wear off in about a day in a healthy person, he said. But regular high-calorie, high-fat consumption would take a toll.

“Every point your HDL drops, your heart disease risk goes up 10 percent,” Shurmur said.

What a coincidence that the reporter's heart disease risk went up 110% which happens to match the amount you're supposed to give in the military and organized sports.

I think it would be significant if the reporter did the same test after eating a meal at every brand of fast food restaurant. I wonder what that might find. Better yet, rather than pick on yet another "heart attack on a plate", talk about the state of fast food in general. Ask questions like, "Where does the chicken come from?" or "How are the animals raised?"

Pass me a bisquit, will ya? I want to sop up all the grease.