Whereas this polar bear could easily make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver may very well be enough 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 each hen, fish or mammal essentially gives the very best components for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you may feast on conventional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have by no means shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, however they've long identified to avoid eating the livers of various arctic creatures. In truth, in the event you ever have the chance to try polar bear liver, think twice -- it will be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, realized the hard method. Perhaps essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick pores and skin on the bottoms of a patient's toes might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst instances 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 time period. Whereas milder instances merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very similar to these of arctic seals and huskies, contains extremely high levels of retinol (the type of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent 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 only dissolves in fat. Instead, it collects in the physique's filtration organ, the liver, where it may reach toxic levels. Vitamin A is a crucial constructing block for a lot of animals. Which means, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the body in urine. People solely require it in very small amounts, nevertheless it plays an important role in eyesight, reproduction, fetal growth, growth, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies relying on age, gender and physical situation. With out sufficient vitamin A in your system, you may easily end up going through signs simply as bad as those related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even death. We usually absorb it through the consumption of foods reminiscent of spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In reality, their physiology developed to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one reason: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from keeping a certain amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to indicate they really require such massive quantities. If you happen to ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd suffer from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals retailer excessive levels of vitamin A in an effort to swiftly grow and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly surroundings. In the wild, polar bears feed virtually exclusively on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store excessive levels of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, very very big teddy bear vitamin A plays a key function in progress and natal development. So if the blue plate particular at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly simply need to stick to a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to shortly advance them through their weak pup phases. Discover the hyperlinks on the next web page to be taught more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver typically accommodates as a lot vitamin A as 79 to 115 hen eggs. That award-profitable meal is available in at almost twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming have to do with the decline in the polar bear inhabitants? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell College Department of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Pointers. 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 concerning 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 Heart. 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 Analysis Council. Rodahl, Okay. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
