While this polar bear may easily make a meal out of you, one bite of his liver could 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 parts of the American South. In Japan, you'll be able to order a heaping helping of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes could sound to you, not chimpanzee teddy bear every chicken, fish or mammal necessarily gives the very best ingredients for a culinary masterpiece. Travel 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 identified to keep away from consuming the livers of varied arctic creatures. In truth, should you ever have the possibility to try polar bear liver, think twice -- it stands out as the final meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, discovered the arduous manner. Perhaps essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a affected person's toes may peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and exposed. The worst circumstances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and loss of life. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a situation resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short time period. Whereas milder circumstances merely involved flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-physique pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like those of arctic seals and huskies, incorporates extraordinarily high levels of retinol (the type of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent web page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry around a lot vitamin A in their livers and the way essential their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fats. Instead, it collects in the physique's filtration organ, the liver, where it could reach toxic ranges. Vitamin A is an important constructing block for many animals. This means that, in contrast to different vitamins, excess vitamin A does not exit the physique in urine. Humans only require it in very small amounts, but it surely plays an important position in eyesight, reproduction, fetal improvement, growth, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies depending on age, gender and bodily condition. With out sufficient vitamin A in your system, you possibly can easily find yourself facing symptoms simply as dangerous as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even death. We sometimes absorb it by way of the consumption of foods such as spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and varied meats. In reality, their physiology evolved to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from retaining a specific amount of vitamin A in their system, but there's nothing to point they actually require such massive portions. If you happen to ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd suffer from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals store high ranges of vitamin A in order to swiftly develop and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. In the wild, polar bears feed almost solely on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which retailer high levels of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key role in development and natal development. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might simply want to stick with a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to quickly advance them by means of their weak pup phases. Explore the links on the next page to study extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver typically comprises as much vitamin A as seventy nine to 115 rooster eggs. That award-successful meal comes in at practically twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming have to do with the decline in the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell University Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Association 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 College. 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 Competitive Consuming. 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 College of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Analysis Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
