Whereas this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver may very well be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried chicken livers are a favourite in components of the American South. In Japan, you can order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As scrumptious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes could sound to you, not every chicken, fish or mammal essentially provides the ikea panda teddy perfect elements for a culinary masterpiece. Travel to Germany and you'll feast on traditional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have never shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've lengthy known to avoid eating the livers of varied arctic creatures. Actually, in the event you ever have the prospect to strive polar bear liver, think twice -- it could be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, learned the onerous approach. Perhaps probably the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick pores and skin on the bottoms of a affected person's ft could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and exposed. The worst instances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and dying. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a situation resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short period of time. While milder instances merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very like those of arctic seals and huskies, contains extremely high ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent web page, we'll discover why polar bears carry around so much vitamin A in their livers and the way crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fats. Instead, it collects within the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it may possibly attain toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a crucial building block for a lot of animals. This means that, not like other vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the body in urine. Humans only require it in very small quantities, however 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 relying on age, gender and bodily condition. Without enough vitamin A in your system, you could possibly simply end up going through signs simply as bad as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even loss of life. We usually absorb it by way of the consumption of foods similar to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and varied meats. In fact, their physiology developed to tolerate a lot vitamin A for only one purpose: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from keeping a certain amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such massive quantities. When you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd undergo from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and benefit from the feast. The seals retailer excessive levels of vitamin A as a way to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly setting. Within the wild, polar bears feed almost completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store high levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key position in growth and natal development. So if the blue plate particular at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly simply wish to keep on with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them through their weak pup stages. Explore the hyperlinks on the subsequent page to learn more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes incorporates as a lot vitamin A as seventy nine to one hundred fifteen rooster eggs. That award-profitable meal comes in at practically twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming need to do with the decline in the polar bear inhabitants? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell University Division of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Affiliation 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 concerning 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 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 Research Council. Rodahl, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
