While this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver may very well be sufficient to ship you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried chicken livers are a favourite in components of the American South. In Japan, you'll be able to order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes could sound to you, not every chicken, fish or mammal necessarily provides the best elements for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you can feast on conventional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have never shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've long recognized to avoid eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. In truth, in the event you ever have the possibility to attempt polar bear liver, suppose twice -- it may be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, learned the hard method. Maybe the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a patient's toes might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst circumstances ended in liver damage, hemorrhage, coma and demise. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a brief time period. While milder cases merely concerned flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like these of arctic seals and huskies, accommodates extremely excessive levels of retinol (the form of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent web page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry round a lot 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 a substitute, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, where it may well attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is a crucial constructing block for a lot of animals. Which means, not like different vitamins, excess vitamin A does not exit the body in urine. Humans solely require it in very small quantities, nevertheless it plays an important function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal improvement, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and bodily situation. Without enough vitamin A in your system, you could easily find yourself dealing with signs simply as unhealthy as those related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even demise. We typically absorb it via the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and varied meats. Actually, their physiology developed to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from maintaining a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such giant quantities. In the event you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd undergo from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and benefit from the feast. The seals retailer high levels of vitamin A with a view to swiftly grow and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly setting. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly exclusively on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store excessive ranges of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key function in progress and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may simply want to stick to a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to quickly advance them by their susceptible pup phases. Explore the links on the subsequent page to be taught extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes comprises as much vitamin A as 79 to a hundred and fifteen chicken eggs. That award-winning meal comes in at practically twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming should do with the decline within bonanza.com/booths/just6f the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell College Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Pointers. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Education. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State College. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific basis for relating to vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic agents." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Worldwide federation of Competitive Consuming. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Analysis 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 University of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
