KFC was never known as a place to eat health food, but with the limited-time addition of the Double Down to the Canadian menu, the chain — and its patrons — are about to get a lot less healthy.

The Double Down is a sandwich without any traditional sandwich dressings: tomatoes, lettuce — or greens of any kind — or bread. It consists of two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce stuffed between two pieces of Original Recipe chicken fillets.

Though the sandwich sounds like a health foodie's nightmare, the Double Down's calorie count is actually surprisingly average for fast food; clocking in at 540 calories, it contains the same amount as a Big Mac from McDonalds. It's the 145 mg of cholesterol (twice the amount in a Big Mac), 1,380 mg of sodium (Health Canada recommends a daily salt intake of around 1,500 mg) and 32 grams of fat that really make the Double Down shine.

"Double Down is not for everyone, and it's not for every day," said Dan Howe, chief marketing officer for Yum! Canada, the company that owns and operates KFC. "Keep in mind, while it is a huge eat, the good news is that it is comparable to other occasional treats, with less fat and calories than a steak dinner with all the fixings, a restaurant-style club sandwich or most deluxe burger and fries combos."

KFC also offers a version of the sandwich that is enveloped by grilled chicken. It knocks off 80 calories and 9 grams of fat, but adds 50 mg of sodium.

The sandwich will be released in Canada for a limited time: from October 18 to November 14. It will cost $6.99.

"KFC Canada wanted to make sure Double Down was of interest to Canada — and people have been begging us to bring it north of the border for months," explained Howe. "When we asked Canadians, almost 65 per cent agreed that KFC should bring Double Down to Canada, and almost half said they want to try it.

The Double Down was first announced in an April Fool's day press release by KFC, and was unleashed on the American public 11 days later. Within one month of its release, over 10 million sandwiches had been sold. "So far, the excitement exceeds our expectations — so we think Double Down will be a success in Canada," said Howe.