While this polar bear might simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver might be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favorite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you may 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 necessarily gives the most effective ingredients for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you'll feast on conventional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have by no means shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've lengthy recognized to keep away from eating the livers of various arctic creatures. Actually, should you ever have the prospect to try polar bear liver, suppose twice -- it often is the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, discovered the arduous way. Maybe probably the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a patient's toes could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst circumstances ended in liver harm, hemorrhage, coma and loss of life. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a short time period. While milder instances merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported cases of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very similar to those of arctic seals and huskies, contains extremely excessive ranges of retinol (the type of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the next page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry around so much vitamin A in 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. As a substitute, it collects within the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it could attain toxic ranges. Vitamin A is an important constructing block for a lot of animals. Which means, not like different vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the physique in urine. People only require it in very small amounts, but it surely performs a significant function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal improvement, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies relying on age, gender and physical condition. With out sufficient vitamin A in your system, you could easily end up facing symptoms just as dangerous as these associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even loss of life. We sometimes absorb it by means of the consumption of foods equivalent to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In reality, their physiology advanced to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one motive: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from holding a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such giant portions. In case you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd suffer from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and benefit from the feast. The seals store high ranges of vitamin A in an effort to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. In the wild, polar bears feed virtually completely on bearded seals chimpanzee teddy bear and ringed seals, each of which retailer high levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key position in development and natal development. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may just wish to follow a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to quickly advance them through their susceptible pup stages. Explore the hyperlinks on the subsequent web page to learn extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as a lot vitamin A as 79 to 115 hen eggs. That award-winning meal is available in at nearly twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does international warming have to do with the decline in 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 Training. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State College. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific foundation for regarding 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 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 College of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Analysis Council. Rodahl, Okay. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
