With all the eating and drinking that's inevitably a component of the American Independence Day festivities on 4 July, indigestion and tummy upsets are guaranteed-- but none more so than for the partakers of the July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Championships.

Legend has it that the contest was started as a bet on 4 July 1916 at Nathan's Famous hot dog stall on Coney Island, when 4 immigrants decided to see who was the most patriotic by scoffing hot dogs. James Mullen, an Irish immigrant was said to have won by eating 13 hot dogs in 12 minutes.

There's considerable doubt regarding the veracity of this story, but in the manner of all good legends, it grew anyway until the contest has now become a significant event, with qualifying rounds happening in over 12 cities before the final event on 4 July at Nathan's Famous flagship on Coney Island. Itbrings in world-wide TV coverage and over 40 000 spectators.

Joey Chestnut of California holds the world record for consuming 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2013, making poor James Mullen's efforts look very wimpy. Sonya Thomas of Virginia is the female champion, having devoured 36 and 3/4 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2013.

Major League Eating, an organization that sanctions all competitive eating events, oversees the event and makes sure safety standards are abided by. Do those safety standards include a course of probiotic supplements for each and every contestant? Because stuffing themselves with all those hot dogs, far from ideal in nutritional value, in such a short space of time, puts an enormous strain on their digestive and hormonal system. The probiotics that live naturally in their gut to aid digestion will be working overtime-- in truth, with that onslaught of food they'll probably just lie down and admit defeat. Not only will the contestants need to top up their probiotic levels, they'll also need a multivitamin to supply the nutrients their body needs to restore itself afterwards.

Consider these facts: one Nathan's hot dog, including the bun, is 309 calories. Multiply that by 69 and you get 21 321 calories. According to national dietary standards, the average male should eat between 2000 and 2500 calories daily. So in 10 minutes Joey Chestnut consumes more calories than the average male would eat in a week! And it's not only the massive influx of calories-- hot dogs are high in fat and sodium, causing a temporary rise in cholesterol levels, and contestants can also put on as much as 15 pounds. Fifteen pounds in ten minutes! It doesn't make me feel so bad now when I jump on the scales and find I've gained half a kilo in a week.

Chestnut 'trains' before the event, as do most serious competitive eaters. About once a week, he'll eat bulk quantities of the food he'll be eating in the next contest, which might be anything from lobster to cheesecake. He also drinks up to a gallon of milk in one sitting, to train his stomach to grow. In the days leading up to a competition he stops eating solid food and just has protein supplements-- it helps if he's starving at the starting block.

He does, however, admit to not feeling too good after the event. I feel distinctly unhealthy just thinking of consuming 69 hot dogs. I guess he thinks it's worth it for the $10 000 prize money.

If you're considering entering the competitive eating sphere, there are also competitions in eating oysters, chicken spiedies, ribs, pepperoni rolls, buffalo wings, sweet corn, deep fried asparagus, Twinkies, pork sliders, Indian Tacos-- the list continues.

How's that pizza with the lot going down now?