Bacon has been alternately vilified and sanctofied as a food product. During the original Atkins diet craze, bacon was vaulted to the status of a “diet food”, leaping past foods like bread and even orange juice. People were lining up for a diet plan that not only told them to eat bacon but to enjoy it on foods not normally found on “diets”. But, like most fad diets, Atkins had its successes and then fell from favor, and according to most nutritionists, not a moment too soon. But, a new version of the Atkins diet has been released and a new sandwich is being released from KFC on Monday, marking the return of bacon in a major way.

That KFC sandwich, the Double Down, is listed as to pieces of chicken, cheese and of course, bacon. The restaurant chain is listing it as 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and over 1300 milligrams of sodium. But, according to a nutritionist/expert, the sandwich might actually be much worse for you than originally thought. When the stated weight of the Double Down plus its ingredients are plugged into a calorie calculating program, the results show over 800 calories . Rick Maynard, a KFC spokesman says that the sandwich is unique and adds that it tested very well in test markets.

KFC is not the only restaurant to jump on the bacon bandwagon though. In a four year period, the number of fast food places that had or added a bacon hamburger or other bacon topped sandwich increased by 35%.. The reasoning, according to experts, is that bacon is a low cost food product but gives a big flavor impact for a small amount. Nutritionists have conceded that in small amounts, as an ingredient for a little flavor, bacon is not all that bad. It is when it becomes a main part of a meal or diet plan that the reasoning gets a little iffy.

Paula Deen as well as a number of other Food Network stars have been called to task for their insistence on using foods that are less than healthy for us, including bacon. Deen, a big fan of some of the Southern staples like bacon, ham and of course, butter, makes no apologies for the foods in her cookbooks or on her shows. But, that stubborn disregard to health in light of the recent information released by the Centers for Disease Control on obesity has landed her in hot water, most recently with Barbra Walters on the View. During that program, Walters pulled no punches when she flat out accused Deen of making people fat.

But, people are not getting all of their bacon fix from Paula Deen and her cohorts on the Food Network. there are so many bacon related products that an entire bacon themed web site was created. Items such as bacon maple lattes, deep fried bacon (served with gravy) and even bacon lollipops are literally flying off the shelves. People are even paying nearly twenty dollars for a bacon infused vodka cocktail, meaning that many of them may not have caught on to the obesity epidemic or that they just do not care.