While this polar bear may easily make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver might be sufficient to ship you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried rooster livers are a favourite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you may order a heaping serving to of koala bear soft toy sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes could sound to you, not each chicken, fish or mammal necessarily offers the best elements for a culinary masterpiece. Travel to Germany and you may feast on conventional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have never shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, however they've lengthy identified to keep away from eating the livers of various arctic creatures. In truth, should you ever have the possibility to strive polar bear liver, think twice -- it could be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, discovered the laborious manner. Maybe the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a affected person's feet could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and exposed. The worst circumstances ended in liver damage, hemorrhage, coma and death. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short period of time. While milder cases merely concerned flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported cases of full-physique skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like those of arctic seals and huskies, incorporates extremely high levels of retinol (the type of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the following web page, we'll discover why polar bears carry round so much vitamin A of their livers and how crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fat. As an alternative, it collects within the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it will possibly reach toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a crucial constructing block for many animals. Which means that, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the physique in urine. Humans only require it in very small quantities, but it performs an important function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies relying on age, gender and bodily situation. With out enough vitamin A in your system, you would easily find yourself going through symptoms just as dangerous as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even death. We usually absorb it by way of the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and varied meats. In fact, their physiology advanced to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from holding a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such large portions. When you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals retailer high levels of vitamin A to be able to swiftly develop and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store high levels of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key position in development and natal development. So if the blue plate special at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly simply need to stick to a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them by way of their weak pup stages. Discover the hyperlinks on the following web page to learn extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes accommodates as much vitamin A as 79 to a hundred and fifteen hen eggs. That award-successful meal is available in at practically twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does international warming should do with the decline in the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell College Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Guidelines. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Training. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State College. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific foundation for relating to vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. International federation of Aggressive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Research Middle. Canadian Journal of Zoology. Penniston, Kristina L. and Sherry A. Tanumihardjo. Mos, Lizzy and Peter S. Ross. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The College of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Analysis Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
