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

While 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 lengthy been a staple in many diets. Deep-fried hen livers are a favorite in components of the American South. In Japan, you'll be able to order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As delicious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes might sound to you, not each fowl, fish or mammal necessarily provides the very best substances 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 known to keep away from consuming the livers of various arctic creatures. The truth is, in the event you ever have the possibility to attempt polar bear liver, think twice -- it stands out as the last meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, realized the arduous way. Perhaps probably the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling skin. Even the thick skin on the bottoms of a patient's toes might peel away, leaving the underlying flesh bloody and uncovered. The worst cases ended in liver damage, hemorrhage, coma and death. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a brief time period. Whereas milder instances merely involved flaking around the mouth, some accounts reported circumstances of full-physique pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, very like these of arctic seals and huskies, comprises extremely excessive ranges of retinol (the form of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the next web page, we'll uncover why polar bears carry around a lot vitamin A of 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 an alternative, it collects in the physique's filtration organ, the liver, the place it could attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is an important constructing block for many animals. Because of this, not like different vitamins, excess vitamin A would not exit the body in urine. Humans solely require it in very small quantities, however it plays an important function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, growth, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in humans varies depending on age, gender and physical condition. Without enough vitamin A in your system, you can easily find yourself dealing with symptoms simply as dangerous as those related to hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry skin, diarrhea, blindness, growth retardation and even loss of life. We sometimes absorb it by way of the consumption of foods similar to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and numerous meats. In truth, their physiology advanced to tolerate a lot vitamin A for just one purpose: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears benefit from keeping a certain amount of vitamin A in their system, however there's nothing to point they actually require such massive quantities. When 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 ranges of vitamin A with a purpose to swiftly grow and nourish their young in a harsh, chilly atmosphere. In the wild, polar bears feed almost solely on bearded seals and ringed seals, each of which retailer excessive levels of vitamin A in their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key function in progress and natal growth. So if the blue plate special at your favorite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might just need to stick to a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to shortly advance them via their weak pup stages. Discover the hyperlinks on the following page to study more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as much vitamin A as 79 to a hundred and fifteen rooster eggs. That award-successful meal comes in at almost twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does global warming must do with the decline within the polar bear inhabitants? Brown, Dan. "Vitamin A Toxicity." Cornell College Department of Animal Science. AZA Bear Tag. "Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Affiliation of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Guidelines. pooh teddy bear online Eliasen, Mogens. "The Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Training. Higdon, Jane. "Vitamin A." Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State College. Hicks, R. Marian. "The scientific basis for relating to vitamin A and its analogues as anti-carcinogenic brokers." Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Worldwide federation of Aggressive 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 College of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, K. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.