Whereas this polar bear may easily make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver may very well be enough to ship you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried rooster livers are a favourite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes may sound to you, not each chook, fish or mammal essentially provides one of the best ingredients for a culinary masterpiece. Travel to Germany and you can feast on traditional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have never shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've long recognized to keep away from eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. The truth is, in the event you ever have the chance to strive polar bear liver, assume twice -- it would be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nonetheless, learned the hard approach. Perhaps the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a affected person's feet might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst cases ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and death. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a brief period of time. Whereas milder cases merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-physique skin loss. The polar very very big teddy bear bear's liver, very like these of arctic seals and huskies, contains extraordinarily excessive levels 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 around a lot vitamin A of their livers and the way crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fats. Instead, it collects within the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it can reach toxic levels. Vitamin A is an important constructing block for a lot of animals. Which means, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the physique in urine. Humans solely require it in very small quantities, however it plays an important role in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, development, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies depending on age, gender and physical situation. Without enough vitamin A in your system, you would simply find yourself going through signs simply as dangerous as those associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even demise. We typically absorb it through the consumption of foods similar to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and numerous meats. The truth is, their physiology evolved to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from protecting a certain amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to indicate they really require such massive quantities. In case you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and benefit from the feast. The seals retailer high levels of vitamin A so as to swiftly grow and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly environment. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which retailer excessive levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key function in development and natal growth. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may just wish to persist with a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to quickly advance them via their vulnerable pup stages. Explore the hyperlinks on the following page to be taught extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver usually accommodates as a lot vitamin A as 79 to one hundred fifteen rooster eggs. That award-successful meal comes in at almost twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming have to do with the decline within the polar bear inhabitants? 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 Pointers. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Education. 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 brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. International federation of Competitive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Research 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 University of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
