Will I Die If I Eat Polar Bear Liver? Koala Bear Soft Toy 85604

Whereas this polar bear could easily make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver could possibly be sufficient to ship you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favourite in parts of the American South. In Japan, you possibly can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes could sound to you, not each chook, fish or mammal essentially provides the perfect elements 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 lengthy identified to avoid consuming the livers of assorted arctic creatures. The truth is, should you ever have the chance to strive polar bear liver, think twice -- it may be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, realized the laborious method. Maybe essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a affected person's toes might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and exposed. The worst circumstances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and dying. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A during a brief time frame. Whereas milder cases merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-body skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very like those of arctic seals and huskies, contains extraordinarily high ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the next page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry around a lot 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 fats. As a substitute, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, where it may well reach toxic levels. Vitamin A is a vital constructing block for many animals. This means that, not like different vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the body in urine. Humans only require it in very small quantities, but it surely plays a vital role in eyesight, reproduction, fetal growth, development, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and physical condition. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you can easily find yourself dealing with signs simply as bad as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even demise. We typically absorb it by the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In reality, their physiology evolved to tolerate so much vitamin A for only one reason: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from holding a specific amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to indicate they really require such giant quantities. If you 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 levels of vitamin A with the intention to swiftly develop and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly setting. In the wild, polar bears feed almost completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which retailer high levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key function in growth and natal improvement. So if the blue plate special at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly simply need to persist with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to quickly advance them by way of their vulnerable pup phases. Discover the hyperlinks on the next page to learn more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver typically incorporates as a lot vitamin A as seventy nine to one hundred fifteen chicken eggs. That award-winning meal is available in at practically twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A red panda teddy consumption. What does world warming should do with the decline within the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell University Department of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Affiliation 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 University. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific basis for regarding vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Worldwide federation of Aggressive Consuming. 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 Analysis Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.