Soon after eating the soup, the explorers experienced nausea, vomiting, headaches, and body aches. The explorers’ skin started to become irritated, and peeled off like a very bad sunburn, starting near the mouth. Some of the explorers experienced joint and bone pain. A few fell into a coma and passed away. The deceased were taken to civilization and autopsies was performed. The cause of death was determined to be hypervitaminosis, or death from too much of 1 particular vitamin.
Mystery: Which vitamin is so dangerous you can actually get too much of it in food form?
Solution: Vitamin A. The livers of the polar bear and seal are very high in Vitamin A, for which unnaturally high doses systemically have negative health consequences.
Nature has devised beta-carotenes to protect humans from too much vitamin A in many foods. Beta-carotenes from food have vitamin A activity without the toxicities. Some beta-carotenes are stored in the liver, and then converted into active vitamin A when the body needs it.
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient that our bodies need to survive. All pills are both good and bad depending on the situation, and vitamins must be in the natural zone: not too high, and not too low.1 This is especially true for vitamin A.
This case is based on a true story.2
REFERENCES
- Siska G. The Beauty of Vitamin A and Drug Spinoffs. Pharmacy Times website. https://www.pharmacytimes.com/contributor/gunda-siska-pharmd/2019/04/the-beauty-of-vitamin-a-and-drug-spinoffs Published April 30, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2020.
- Rodahl K, Moore T. The vitamin A content and toxicity of bear and seal liver. Biochem J 1943;37:166-8. [PubMed abstract]