Eggs beat Double Down in cholesterol match up

Students around campus may have more to worry about in their diet than KFC’s flagship sandwich, the Double Down.

KFC’s Double Down is far stretch from what most consider to be a healthy meal. It contains 540 calories, 32g of fat, and 1,380mg of sodium. But while these numbers seem outrageous, the cholesterol in a Double Downs sits at 150mg — a modest number considering a common egg yolk can contain up to 275mg.

The Institute of Medicine, a non profit organization that works outside of government to provide health information to the public, recommends the average healthy North American consume as little cholesterol as possible while maintaining a balanced diet — about 300mg daily.

So should students be more worried about meal options they might have originally considered to be a healthy?

Len Piche, a professor of nutritional sciences at Brescia University College, said to be wary about the percentages seen on food packaging.

“The rule for labelling in Canada is it’s optional. If you pick up a food label, some of the cholesterol labels will have a per cent daily value and some won’t,” Piche said. “You have to disclose how much cholesterol is in there but you don’t have to express it as a per cent daily value.”

Piche noted, however, the younger and healthier student population has less to worry about than those with cardiovascular illness.

While there’s no argument stating an egg is more of a threat to nutrition than KFC’s Double Down, those with known cardiovascular problems, or a family history of them, should be wary of the levels of cholesterol they put into their bodies.