While this polar bear could simply make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver might be sufficient to send you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favourite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you may order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As scrumptious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes might sound to you, not every hen, fish or mammal necessarily offers the perfect substances for a culinary masterpiece. Journey 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 long recognized to avoid eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. In actual fact, in case you ever have the possibility to try polar bear liver, think twice -- it often is the final meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, realized the onerous manner. Maybe the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick pores and skin on the bottoms of a patient's ft could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst cases ended in liver damage, hemorrhage, coma and death. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a short time period. Whereas milder cases merely involved flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-body pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very like these of arctic seals and huskies, comprises extraordinarily excessive levels of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the next web page, we'll discover why polar bears carry round so much vitamin A of their livers and the way crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fat. As an alternative, it collects within the body's filtration organ, the liver, where it may possibly reach toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a vital constructing block for a lot of animals. Which means that, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the physique in urine. People solely require weighted teddy it in very small quantities, nevertheless it plays an important position 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 physical condition. Without enough vitamin A in your system, you possibly can simply find yourself going through symptoms just as bad as these associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even dying. We typically absorb it by means of the consumption of foods resembling spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In fact, their physiology advanced to tolerate so much vitamin A for just one purpose: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from conserving a specific amount of vitamin A of their system, but there's nothing to indicate they actually require such massive quantities. In case you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals store excessive levels of vitamin A so as to swiftly grow and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly environment. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which store high ranges of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key role in development and natal improvement. So if the blue plate particular at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might simply want to keep on with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to shortly advance them through their vulnerable pup stages. Explore the links on the next web page to learn extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver usually comprises as much vitamin A as seventy nine to a hundred and fifteen chicken eggs. That award-successful meal is available in at almost twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming need to do with the decline within the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell University Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Tips. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Training. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific foundation for relating to vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic agents." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Worldwide federation of Aggressive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Research Center. Canadian Journal of Zoology. Penniston, Kristina L. and Sherry A. Tanumihardjo. Mos, Lizzy and Peter S. Ross. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The University of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
