Healthiest Fast-Food Double Cheeseburger

A juicy double cheeseburger is a much-loved fast-food item, but you'd be hard-pressed to find one that could be considered nutritious. Fast-food double cheeseburgers contain a large amount of ground beef, which means they're also high in saturated fat. The cheese and other ingredients can add even more fat, as well as a huge amount of sodium. Too much saturated fat and sodium increases your risk of heart disease. If you still want the double cheeseburger, at least opt for the best of the worst.

A Burger King double cheeseburger is better than other fast food leaders in terms of calories and fat, with 370 calories and 18 grams of fat, of which 9 grams are saturated. With 720 milligrams of sodium, it's also a better choice when it comes to sodium content. The Burger King cheeseburger contains more protein than McDonald's, as well, with 22 grams, which is almost half of the 46 grams of protein women need each day and 40 percent of the 56 grams men require every day.

A double cheeseburger from McDonald's contains 440 calories and 23 grams of fat, of which 11 are saturated. If you follow a 2,000-calorie diet and limit your saturated fat intake to the recommended 7 percent or less of your caloric intake, that's more than half of the saturated fat you should have for the entire day. The burger also contains 1,050 milligrams of sodium, which is 70 percent of the 1,500 milligrams of sodium you should limit yourself to each day, according to the American Heart Association. A McDonald's double cheeseburger also supplies 20 grams of protein and a good dose of calcium and iron.

The double cheeseburger at Wendy's, called the Double Stack, contains 420 calories and 21 grams of fat, of which 10 grams are saturated. In terms of fat, this version is better than the McDonald's version, but isn't as good as the double cheeseburger from Burger King. The Double Stack beats out both McDonald's and Burger King with its 27 grams of protein, but ties with McDonald's with its 1,050 milligrams of sodium.

Smashburger offers a "Big Smash," which contains about as much meat as a double cheeseburger and contains 768 calories and 50 grams of fat, of which 23 are saturated. This makes it one of the worst fast-food double cheeseburgers. At Carl's Jr., the double cheeseburger is called the "Super Star" with cheese, and it contains 940 calories and 59 grams of fat, 24 grams of which are saturated. With 1,560 milligrams of sodium, it's also one of the worst fast-food double cheeseburgers. A "Double Steakburger" at Steak and Shake is one of your better options with 590 milligrams of sodium. This one also contains 440 calories and 25 grams of fat, of which 11 grams are saturated.