Will I Die If I Eat Polar Bear Liver? Large Panda Teddy

Whereas this polar bear may simply make a meal out of you, one chunk of his liver might be sufficient to ship you to the hospital. Liver has lengthy been a staple in lots of diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favorite in components of the American South. In Japan, you'll be able to order a heaping serving to of sashimi made with uncooked fish liver. As scrumptious (or disgusting) as some of these dishes could sound to you, not every fowl, fish or mammal necessarily provides one of the best elements for a culinary masterpiece. Journey 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, however they've lengthy known to keep away from eating the livers of various arctic creatures. In truth, in the event you ever have the possibility to attempt polar bear liver, think twice -- it may be the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, nevertheless, realized the exhausting method. Perhaps essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and skin. Even the thick pores and skin on the bottoms of a patient's feet could peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and exposed. The worst instances ended in liver injury, hemorrhage, coma and dying. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition ensuing from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short time frame. While milder instances merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-body pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like those of arctic seals and huskies, contains extraordinarily high levels of retinol (the type of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the next web page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry round so much vitamin A of their livers and how crucial their retinol tolerance is to their survival. While some vitamins dissolve in water, vitamin A only dissolves in fats. As a substitute, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, the place it may possibly reach toxic levels. Vitamin A is a vital building block for many animals. Because of this, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A doesn't exit the physique in urine. Humans only require it in very small amounts, however it performs an important role in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, development, 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 may easily find yourself going through signs simply as bad as these related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, progress retardation and even dying. We sometimes absorb it by means of the consumption of foods resembling spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and various meats. In reality, their physiology advanced to tolerate so much vitamin A for just one purpose: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from holding a specific amount of vitamin A in their system, but there's nothing to indicate they really require such giant quantities. For those who ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd endure from hypervitaminosis A, but 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 young in a harsh, chilly surroundings. Within the wild, polar bears feed nearly completely on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which retailer excessive levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key position in development and natal improvement. So if the blue plate particular at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might just wish to stick with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to rapidly advance them via their vulnerable pup phases. Explore the links on the following web page to learn more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as a lot vitamin A as seventy nine to 115 chicken eggs. That award-winning meal is available in at almost twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does international warming must do with the decline in the polar bear population? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell University 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 Education. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State College. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific foundation for regarding 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 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 College of Cambridge very very big teddy bear Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, Okay. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.