The Doctors: Stephanie Torres Ate 53 Tacos in 10 Minutes
Weighing in at just over 100 pounds, competitive eater Stephanie Torres can eat more in one sitting than ten grown men combined.
She’s eaten 71 cupcakes in eight minutes and 47 tamales in eight minutes, and said she gets a thrill out of it. She participated in the Gringo Bandito Taco Eating Challenge and downed 53 tacos in ten minutes, 13 more than she thought she’d be able to do.
The Doctors: Competitive Eating Health Risks?
Torres sat down with Dr. Travis Stork on The Doctors to explain how she’s capable of these feast feats. Dr. Stork said that a normal person’s stomach is about the size of two fists. Torres’ stomach has the ability to expand to almost six or seven liters. Her esophagus also relaxes so much that it almost expands her stomach more.
Competitive eaters like Stephanie Torres have stomachs that can naturally expand more than a regular person. She challenged Dr. Jim Sears to a watermelon eating contest.
There is also a theory that competitive eaters have bacteria that helps them digest food quicker. Dr. Stork said that people need to realize that physically, not just anyone can eat like this. Binge Eating, for example, can be extremely dangerous.
The Doctors: Torres’ Stomach Can Easily Expand Due to Low Body Fat
Torres was curious about how her eating has affected her health. Dr. Andrew Ordon said that when her stomach expands, it no doubt is pressing on her other organs. Dr. Stork said that because Torres is so petite, she doesn’t have a lot of stomach fat pressing down and it’s easy for her stomach to become distended.
The Doctors: Watermelon Eating Contest
Dr. Stork challenged Torres and Dr. Jim Sears to a 30-second watermelon eating contest. Dr. Stork said that watermelon is greater than 90% water. He counted for Torres and Dr. Lisa Masterson counted for Dr. Sears.
Torres won with five pieces, and Dr. Sears was only able to eat three. He said he looked over at her when his mouth was so full that he couldn’t swallow and she was having no problem at all. Dr. Stork said that that’s why not just anyone can compete in an eating competition.
