What are the costs of Canada's spike in breakfast sandwich sales?
The allure of eggs, bacon and processed cheese stacked between a toasted croissant, English muffin or bagel has proven irresistible to Canadians.
Last year, we gobbled up 552 million breakfasts-to-go — a 12 per cent spike since 2013.
Fast food giants such as McDonald's and A&W have noticed the insatiable hunger for the food, and have started providing breakfast sandwiches all day long.
But registered dietitian and Globe and Mail columnist Leslie Beck tells The Current we should be wary of eating fast food in the morning.
"Tim Hortons' sausage breakfast sandwich has 500 calories, 16 grams of saturated fat (which is three-quarters of a day's worth) and 1030 milligrams of sodium (two-thirds of a day's worth.)"
"Even the lower calorie breakfast sandwiches can still deliver a lot of sodium. Starbucks has a spinach and feta wrap with egg whites — it's very popular — and that delivers 830 milligrams of sodium. That's a little more than half of your daily requirements."
Not only does the high salt and fat content of these morning offerings pose direct health risks, such as damage to blood vessels and arteries, but Beck says we should also be concerned about the opportunity cost of throwing away the most important meal of the day.
You're missing out on foods like fruit, whole grains, yogurt — which means that your overall diet might be shy in fiber, calcium, vitamins, and antioxidants.- Leslie Beck
But we, the people, can't be totally to blame. Breakfast sandwiches are designed to be absolutely delectable, and very addictive.
"These highly palatable foods — because they're high in fat, sugar and salt — can trigger the release of feel-good brain chemicals like dopamine. And once people experience the pleasure associated with increased dopamine transmission in the brain's reward pathway…they quickly feel the need to eat again."
Listen to the full segment at the top of this web post.
This segment was produced by The Current's Samira Mohyeddin.