While this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one bite of his liver may very well be sufficient to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried chicken livers are a favorite in elements of the American South. In Japan, you can order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes could sound to you, not every chook, fish or mammal necessarily gives the very best elements for a culinary masterpiece. Travel to Germany and you may feast on traditional 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 avoid eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. In fact, in case you ever have the possibility to strive polar bear liver, suppose twice -- it could be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, realized the exhausting manner. Maybe essentially 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 feet might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst instances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and loss of life. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a situation resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a brief time frame. Whereas milder cases merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported cases of full-body pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very similar to these of arctic seals and huskies, incorporates extremely excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent page, we'll discover why polar bears carry round so much vitamin A in their livers and the way essential their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fat. As an alternative, 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, unlike different vitamins, excess vitamin A does not exit the physique in urine. Humans solely require it in very small amounts, however it plays an important function pooh teddy bear online in eyesight, reproduction, fetal improvement, growth, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and physical situation. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you possibly can easily end up dealing with symptoms simply as dangerous as those related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even death. We usually absorb it by the consumption of foods comparable to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and numerous meats. Actually, their physiology advanced to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from protecting a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such massive portions. For those who ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals store excessive ranges of vitamin A with the intention to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. In the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store high ranges of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key position in growth and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may simply want to follow a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them by means of their weak pup levels. Discover the hyperlinks on the next web page to learn extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes accommodates as a lot vitamin A as seventy nine to 115 chicken eggs. That award-profitable meal comes in at practically twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming should 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)." Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Tips. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Schooling. 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 Aggressive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Analysis Middle. 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.
