While this polar bear might simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver could possibly be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favorite in elements of the American South. In Japan, you may order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As scrumptious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes may sound to you, not every hen, fish or mammal necessarily gives one of the best elements for a culinary masterpiece. Travel to Germany and you may feast on conventional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have never shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've lengthy recognized to avoid eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. Actually, if you happen to ever have the chance to strive polar bear liver, assume twice -- it stands out as the final meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, learned the onerous approach. Maybe the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick pores and skin on the bottoms of a affected person's toes may peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst circumstances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and dying. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a short time frame. While milder instances merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported cases of full-physique pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like these of arctic seals and huskies, incorporates extraordinarily excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the following page, we'll discover why polar bears carry round so much 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 fats. As an alternative, it collects within the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it will possibly attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is a crucial constructing block for many animals. This means that, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the body in urine. Humans solely require it in very small quantities, but it surely performs 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 bodily situation. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you could easily find yourself dealing with signs just as bad as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even loss of life. We typically absorb it by the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In actual fact, their physiology developed to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one reason: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from retaining a specific amount of vitamin A of their system, but there's nothing to point they really require such large quantities. In the event you 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 an effort to swiftly grow and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly environment. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly exclusively on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which store high ranges of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key role in progress and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may just wish to stick with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to shortly advance them via their weak pup phases. Discover 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 chicken eggs. That award-winning meal is available in at almost twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming need to do with the decline within the polar big panda teddy bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell College Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Tips. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Schooling. 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 brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. International 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 Research Council. Rodahl, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
