Happy 4th of July

Ahh, the Fourth of July, the most American of holidays. And what could be more american than hot dogs? Joey Chesnut brought it home for the US today, downing a staggering 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes at the annual Nathan's hot dog eating contest in Coney Island. Now I'm not sure if these guys keep all that food down, or if they purge like a drunken Roman. But, if they do keep it down, I can't help but wonder what impact those dogs have on their health, specifically, the nitrite load to the body. Nitrites added to meat products bind to myoglobin in the muscle tissue and help it maintain that nice red color. However, when nitrites enter the gut they can combine with proteins to make a class of carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines. Sixty-six hot dogs is probably the number the average person eats in a year.