Takeru Kobayashi has enthralled and puzzled audiences for years at the annual Nathan's hot dog-eating contest.

Madison Park
CNN

Don Lerman set a record by eating seven sticks of salted butter in five minutes. During six years of competitive eating, he gained 100 pounds.

Dominick Cardo, known as "The Doginator" in competitions, woke up at night sweating, nauseated and feeling stomach and chest pains.

Both former competitve eaters competed in the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. This year's competition airs Saturday on ESPN.

"Any way you look at it, it's not healthy," Dave "Coondog" O'Karma, a retired competitive eater, said of his former hobby. "You do it once in a while, and it's fun. I don't think loading your body with fat and salt is healthy."

After 35 years of gobbling hamburger, oysters, eggs, corn on the cob and even bull testicles, O'Karma listened to his family and retired from the competition.

Despite having quit for health reasons, ex-speed eaters fondly recall the thrill of competing, cramming food down their throats and basking in the cheers.

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