While this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver could possibly be sufficient to send you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried rooster livers are a favorite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you possibly can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes may sound to you, not each chicken, fish or mammal essentially presents one of the 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 known to keep away from eating the livers of various arctic creatures. Actually, when you ever have the prospect to strive polar bear liver, suppose twice -- it stands out as the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nonetheless, realized the exhausting way. Maybe the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a patient's ft could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst instances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and loss of life. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a brief period of time. While milder circumstances merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like these of arctic seals and huskies, comprises extraordinarily high ranges 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 essential their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fats. Instead, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it could possibly attain toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a vital building block for many animals. Which means that, in contrast to other vitamins, excess vitamin A does not exit the physique in urine. Humans only require it in very small quantities, nevertheless it performs a significant position in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and bodily situation. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you would simply end up going through signs just as unhealthy as these associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even loss of life. We sometimes absorb it through the consumption of foods such as spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In actual fact, their physiology advanced to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one purpose: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from holding a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, but there's nothing to indicate they actually require such large portions. If you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd suffer from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals store excessive levels of vitamin A with a view to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. In the wild, polar bears feed virtually solely on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which store excessive ranges of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key function in growth and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might simply need to keep on with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them by means of their vulnerable pup stages. Discover the links on the following page to study more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver usually accommodates as a lot vitamin A as 79 to 115 hen eggs. That award-profitable meal is available in at nearly twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming need 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 Pointers. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Education. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. bts with teddy bear Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific foundation for concerning vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Worldwide federation of Competitive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Analysis 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 Analysis Council. Rodahl, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
