While this polar bear might easily make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver could be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried rooster livers are a favourite in elements of the American South. In Japan, you possibly can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes might sound to you, not every bird, fish or mammal necessarily presents the most effective ingredients for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you may feast on traditional liverwurst. The native penzu.com/p/1fa4a6a4 peoples of the Arctic have by no means shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, but they've lengthy known to keep away from eating the livers of assorted arctic creatures. In reality, when you ever have the prospect to attempt polar bear liver, assume twice -- it stands out as the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, learned the onerous way. Perhaps essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a patient's feet might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst circumstances ended in liver harm, hemorrhage, coma and demise. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short time period. Whereas milder circumstances merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-physique skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very similar to those of arctic seals and huskies, accommodates extraordinarily excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the following web page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry around so much vitamin A in their livers and the way essential their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fats. As a substitute, it collects within the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it might attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is an important building block for many animals. Because of this, in contrast to different vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the body in urine. Humans solely require it in very small quantities, however it plays a significant function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal growth, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies depending on age, gender and physical condition. With out enough vitamin A in your system, you might easily find yourself going through symptoms just as dangerous as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can result in dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even loss of life. We sometimes absorb it by the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and numerous meats. In truth, their physiology evolved to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one cause: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from protecting a certain quantity of vitamin A in their system, but there's nothing to indicate they actually require such giant portions. When you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd undergo from hypervitaminosis A, but the polar bear can tolerate and benefit from the feast. The seals retailer high ranges of vitamin A to be able to swiftly develop and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly environment. Within the wild, polar bears feed almost solely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which retailer excessive ranges of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key function in growth and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly just want to stick with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to quickly advance them by way of their vulnerable pup phases. Discover the links on the following web page to be taught more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as much vitamin A as 79 to one hundred fifteen chicken eggs. That award-successful meal is available in at nearly twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does international warming need to do with the decline within 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 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 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 University of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, Okay. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.
