Will I Die If I Eat Polar Bear Liver? Very Very Big Teddy Bear 54349

While this polar bear could simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver might be enough to send you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried chicken livers are a favourite in elements of the American South. In Japan, you can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes may sound to you, not each bird, fish or mammal essentially affords the perfect elements for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you can feast on traditional liverwurst. The native peoples of the Arctic have by no means shied away from cooking up some polar bear stew, however they've lengthy recognized to keep away from consuming the livers of assorted arctic creatures. In actual fact, if you happen to ever have the prospect to try polar bear liver, assume twice -- it could be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, learned 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 ft could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst circumstances 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 period of time. Whereas milder instances merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-body pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very similar to these of arctic seals and huskies, accommodates extremely excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the next page, we'll discover why polar bears carry around a lot vitamin A in their livers and how crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A solely dissolves in fat. Instead, it collects within the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it might attain toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a crucial building block for many animals. Which means, unlike different vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the physique in giant panda teddy urine. People solely require it in very small amounts, but it surely plays a vital function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and bodily situation. With out sufficient vitamin A in your system, you possibly can simply end up dealing with signs simply as bad as those related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even dying. We sometimes absorb it by means of the consumption of foods comparable to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. Actually, their physiology evolved to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one motive: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from maintaining a certain amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they really require such giant quantities. For those who ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals retailer high levels of vitamin A with a view to swiftly grow and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly setting. Within the wild, polar bears feed virtually completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which store excessive levels of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key role in development and natal development. So if the blue plate particular at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you may just want to keep on with a salad. The seals rely on this vitamin to rapidly advance them by means of their vulnerable pup levels. Discover the links on the following page to be taught extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver typically accommodates as much vitamin A as seventy nine to 115 chicken eggs. That award-profitable meal comes in at almost twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming need 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 Guidelines. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Dangerous(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Schooling. 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 agents." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. International federation of Competitive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Research 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 College of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Analysis Council. Rodahl, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.