Whereas this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver could possibly be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favourite in elements of the American South. In Japan, you possibly can order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes may sound to you, not each fowl, fish or mammal necessarily affords the most effective substances for a culinary masterpiece. Travel 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 lengthy known to avoid eating the livers of varied arctic creatures. In reality, in case you ever have the prospect to strive polar bear liver, think twice -- it could be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, realized the exhausting way. Maybe essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a affected person's ft could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst instances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and demise. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a situation ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a brief time period. While milder cases merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-physique pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like these of arctic seals and huskies, accommodates extraordinarily excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the following page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry round a lot vitamin A in their livers and how essential their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fat. Instead, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it could attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is a vital building block for many animals. Because of this, unlike different vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the body in urine. Humans solely require it in very small amounts, however it plays a vital function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies depending on age, gender and bodily condition. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you could possibly simply find yourself going through signs simply as unhealthy as those associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even death. We sometimes absorb it via the consumption of foods reminiscent of spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In actual fact, their physiology developed to tolerate so much vitamin A for just one motive: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from retaining a certain amount of vitamin A of their system, however there's nothing to indicate they really require such large quantities. When 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 retailer high ranges of vitamin A so as to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly setting. In the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store excessive levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key role in development and natal development. So if the blue plate special at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly just need to stick with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them by their vulnerable pup phases. Discover the links on the next page to learn more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as much vitamin A as 79 to 115 hen eggs. That award-winning meal is available in at almost twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming have to do with the decline within 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 Tips. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Training. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific basis for regarding 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 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 Research Council. Rodahl, K. and T. panda teddy bear online Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
