KFC's 'Double Down' sandwich – Double Death?

Is a doubly strong wave of heart attacks about to stab America? Are we begging for a bigger health crisis than the one we already suffer from?

As if we weren't already drowning in cholesterol, KFC has created a Double Death sandwich, the Double Down. One reviewer posts on CNN.com about the heart attack special:

...as I tore through the brown bag and popped the cardboard lid, I wondered would I spontaneously combust?

Or call it the Double Drown; it'll drown your heart in cholesterol and fat.

I rode through a KFC/Taco Bell and told the cashier it was "the most cholesterol-bloated blob of hooey I've ever heard of." It contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1380 milligrams of sodium, according to the CNN.com review.

Even the manager laughed, although they tried to sell me one: "It's delicious." (I then ordered a vegetable-filled chicken Gordita.)

I'll bet it is. So are bacon and greasy fries. Hey--why not pack a pound of bacon in a lard-soaked pocket of potatoes and call it the Potato Pig Pocket?

What's with the fast food companies? Shouldn't our government impose fat and cholesterol limits on them, much as the auto companies must meet a fleet average of ever-lower miles per gallon on vehicles?

Why not? Global bloating should be listed as a human health hazard as dangerous as global warming.

It would be so easy to lighten the sodium, reduce the fat, add essential fiber and vitamins to most of these death-dealing fast foods. So why are these companies so utterly blind to the health of their patrons?

Shockingly, the Double Down is not the worst health hazard in fast food: Wendy's Bacinator offers a lardy 980 calories, 62 grams of fat and 2020 milligrams of sodium; McDonald's Big Mac boasts 590 calories, 34 grams of fat and 1010 milligrams of sodium. Gag me with a greasy gooey spoon!

I've actually stuffed both of these greedily down, forgoing fries and ordering a cup of water to--how cliche!--reduce the calories. Good thing it only happened twice. Otherwise I'd have to put on stretch pants,

Huffington Post writes it up here.

Ah well. As one friend notes, "All things in moderation--including health." I'll drink a melted butterball to that.