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

While dog teddy bear big size this polar bear might simply make a meal out of you, one chew of his liver might 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 elements of the American South. In Japan, you can order a heaping helping of sashimi made with raw fish liver. As scrumptious (or disgusting) as a few of these dishes may sound to you, not each fowl, fish or mammal essentially presents the perfect components for a culinary masterpiece. Journey 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, however they've long identified to avoid consuming the livers of various arctic creatures. The truth is, for those who ever have the possibility to attempt polar bear liver, assume twice -- it will be the final meal you ever eat. Western explorers, however, realized the hard manner. Maybe essentially the most horrific symptom they encountered was peeling pores and 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 demise. These explorers suffered from acute hypervitaminosis A, a condition resulting from the overconsumption of vitamin A throughout a short time frame. Whereas milder circumstances merely involved flaking across the mouth, some accounts reported cases of full-body pores and skin loss. The polar bear's liver, much like these of arctic seals and huskies, accommodates extremely excessive ranges of retinol (the type of vitamin A present in members of the animal kingdom). On the subsequent 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 solely dissolves in fat. As a substitute, it collects in the body's filtration organ, the liver, where it could attain toxic levels. Vitamin A is a crucial building block for many animals. Which means, unlike other vitamins, excess vitamin A does not exit the physique in urine. People solely require it in very small quantities, however it plays a vital function in eyesight, reproduction, fetal development, progress, immune response and the cellular formation of tissue. Vitamin A tolerability in people varies depending on age, gender and bodily situation. With out sufficient vitamin A in your system, you could simply find yourself facing signs simply as unhealthy as these associated with hypervitaminosis A. Deficiencies can lead to dry pores and skin, diarrhea, blindness, development retardation and even demise. We sometimes absorb it through the consumption of foods akin to spinach, broccoli, eggs, milk and varied meats. In truth, their physiology evolved to tolerate a lot vitamin A for only one motive: to eat seals. Like many animals, polar bears profit from maintaining a certain amount of vitamin A of their system, however there's nothing to point they actually require such massive quantities. In case you ate a bearded seal's liver, you'd suffer from hypervitaminosis A, however the polar bear can tolerate and enjoy the feast. The seals retailer excessive levels of vitamin A with a purpose to swiftly develop and nourish their younger in a harsh, chilly setting. Within the wild, polar bears feed almost exclusively on bearded seals and ringed seals, both of which store excessive ranges of vitamin A of their livers and blubber. Remember, vitamin A performs a key position in growth and natal development. So if the blue plate particular at your favourite diner is ever sautéed polar bear liver, you might simply wish to persist with a salad. The seals depend on this vitamin to quickly advance them by means of their vulnerable pup levels. Explore the links on the subsequent page to learn more about vitamin A and polar bear liver. One polar bear liver sometimes contains as much vitamin A as seventy nine to a hundred and fifteen rooster eggs. That award-successful meal comes in at practically twice the tolerable higher limits of human vitamin A consumption. What does world warming have to 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)." Association of Zoos and Aquariums Standardizes Animal Care Guidelines. Eliasen, Mogens. "The Harmful(?) Vitamin A." K9joy Training. 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 Competitive Eating. Lintzenich, Barbara, et al. Brookfield Zoo Conservation Biology and Analysis 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 University of Cambridge Dunn Nutritional Laboratory and Medical Research Council. Rodahl, Okay. and T. Moore. Slaughter, Kip. E-mail interview.