Will I Die If I Eat Polar Bear Liver? Pooh Bear Soft Toy

While this polar bear could simply make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver could possibly be sufficient to send you to the hospital. Liver has long been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried rooster livers are a favorite in components of the American South. In Japan, you may order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes could sound to you, not each hen, fish or mammal necessarily provides the perfect components for a culinary masterpiece. Journey to Germany and you'll 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 known to avoid consuming the livers of varied arctic creatures. The truth is, if you ever have the prospect to strive polar bear liver, think twice -- it may be the final meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, discovered the hard approach. 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 ft 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 time frame. Whereas milder cases merely concerned flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported instances of full-physique pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like those of arctic seals and huskies, contains extremely high ranges of retinol (the type of vitamin A found in members of the animal kingdom). On the following web page, we'll discover why polar bears carry around so much vitamin A in their livers and how crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. Whereas some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fats. As an alternative, it collects within the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it chimpanzee teddy bear might attain toxic ranges. Vitamin A is a vital building block for many animals. Which means, unlike different vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the physique in urine. People only require it in very small quantities, but it surely performs an important role in eyesight, reproduction, fetal improvement, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies relying on age, gender and bodily condition. Without sufficient vitamin A in your system, you could easily end up facing 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 typically absorb it via the consumption of foods corresponding to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and numerous meats. In fact, their physiology advanced to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one motive: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from preserving a specific amount of vitamin A of their system, but there's nothing to indicate they really require such massive portions. 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 store excessive ranges of vitamin A so as to swiftly develop and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly surroundings. In the wild, polar bears feed virtually exclusively on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which store excessive ranges of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A plays a key position in progress and natal growth. So if the blue plate particular at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you would possibly just want to persist with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to quickly advance them by means of their weak pup levels. Explore the links on the next page to be taught extra about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver typically comprises as a lot vitamin A as 79 to 115 hen eggs. That award-winning meal comes in at almost twice the tolerable upper limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming must do with the decline within the polar bear population? 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 Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Schooling. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific basis for relating to 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 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, Ok. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.