Exercise for healthy livers

Staying Motivated tattooing and other procedures Keeping upDo your exercise regime can sometimes be where equipment is not fully How I Love My Liver? challenging.

It’s easy to put things off, but then you run sterilised. the risk of giving up altogether.  Do not share injecting equipment.

How Do I Love My Liver?

• Don’t let yourself get bored—try different

Call 1300 222toto find out more. forms 437 of exercise keep things interesting.

•

Promise yourself healthy rewards (perhaps high-quality healthy treats, or some new running gear) for achieving your goals.

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Exercise with a partner or a group. Having other people involved makes it harder for you to drop out, and you can encourage each other.

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Set a regular time for your exercise, so that it becomes a normal part of your routine.

Protect your liver against 3 main threats: hepatitis, liver Protect viral your liver againstfatty 3 main threats: viral hepatitis, fatty liver and alcohol. and alcohol.

 Maintain a healthy weight with  regular Maintain a healthy weight with exercise.

www.K3MyLiver.org.au

regular exercise.  Eat a balanced diet with lots of  Eat a balanced diet with lots of

fruits www.hepsa.asn.au and vegetables. fruits and vegetables.  Reduce alcohol intake - keep to 1  Reduce alcohol intake - keep to 1 standard day. standarddrink drink a a day.   Avoid binge drinking don’tdrink drink Avoid binge drinking -- don’t more than standard drinkstowards SAmore Health has44contributed funds than standard drinks inin this Program. one sitting. one sitting.

1300 437 222

HepatitisSA SALast updated October 2012 Hepatitis

Street address: Hackney Road, HACKNEY Street address: 33Hackney Road, HACKNEY Postal address PO Box 782, KENT TOWN SA 5071 Postal address PO Box 782, KENT TOWN SA 5071 Telephone: 08 8362 8443 Telephone: 08 8362 8443 Facsimile: 08 8362 8559 Facsimile: 08 8362 8559 Email: admin@hepsa.asn.au Email: www. hepsa.asn.auadmin@hepsa.asn.au | www.K3myLiver.org.au | www.hepccheck.info www. hepsa.asn.au | www.K3myLiver.org.au | www.hepccheck.info

Why Love My Liver?  Get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B.  Practise safe sex.  Avoid cosmetic, body piercing,

 Get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B. tattooing and other procedures  Practise safe sex. where equipment is not fully  Avoid cosmetic, body piercing,

sterilised. tattooing and other procedures  Doequipment not shareisinjecting where not fully equipment. sterilised.

Call 1300 437 222 to find out more.  Do not share injecting equipment.

Call 1300 437 222 to find out more.

Because it is the only one you have and you can’t live without it!

All artwork by Hana Jang, used under Creative Commons license: [flickr.com/photos/from_drawing]

 Get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B.  Practise safe sex.  Avoid cosmetic, body piercing,

Exercise for HealthyLove Livers Why

Why Love My Liver?

My Liver?

More Information Hepatitis SA has lots of useful information about health and hepatitis. Call the Hepatitis SA Helpline on 1300 437 222 or visit Hepatitis SA online at hepatitissa.asn. au. Come and explore our library at 3 Hackney Rd, Hackney, for the latest health research findings, or explore the catalogue online at hepsa.asn.au/library. www.K3MyLiver.org.au

Because it is the only one

Because it is the only one youand have you have you and can’tyou can’t live without it! live without it!

www.K3MyLiver.org.au

For more information on exercise, see thesupport Australian Hepatitis SA provides information, and www.hepsa.asn.au www.hepsa.asn.au National Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults www. education to people affected by hepatitis,atand health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/healthhealth and community workers. pubhlth-strateg-phys-act-guidelines#guidelines_adults.

1300 437 222222 1300 437

The Heart Foundation has a number of helpful SA Health has contributed funds towards resources at www.heartfoundation.org.au/active-living/ SA Health has contributed funds towards this Program.

Pages/default.aspx. this Program.

Last updated October 2012 Last updated August 2013

Last updated October 2012

Hepatitis SA provides information, support and SA provides information, educationHepatitis to people affected by hepatitis, and support and education to people affected by hepatitis, and health and community workers.

health and community workers.

What Exercise?

How Does it Help?

Getting some good exercise does not mean you need to spend endless hours in a gym. Regular walking and yoga are excellent forms of exercise. If you’re walking briskly, energetically enough to still be able to talk but not to sing, then you’re exercising well!

Exercise improves liver function in a number of ways.

Continued aerobic exercise strengthens your heart muscle and allows it to pump blood with less effort.

As this occurs, your pulse slows down and blood flow improves, making it easier for your heart to get blood to the liver and for your liver to send filtered blood back through your blood system. Building lean muscle mass through weight can delay the severe muscle wasting that may develop during advanced stages of liver disease. In addition, weight training prevents the build-up of excess body fat that can lead to a fatty liver.

Improved flexibility helps you avoid injuries that can make regular exercise difficult.

There are different kinds of exercise which work to improve your body and health in different ways.

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Why Exercise?

Exercise has many benefits for the liver, whether you are living with hepatitis or not. Exercise protects your health by helping maintain a good body weight, helping prevent the development of chronic illness, lifting your mood, and increasing your strength and energy.

For people with hepatitis, physical activity can help to manage and reduce fatty liver, and can help to manage sleep issues by ensuring that the body is ‘ready for bed’. Exercise reduces the chance of developing common health problems, including diabetes and heart disease. It can also help people feel better while going through some treatments for other conditions such as hepatitis.

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Aerobic exercise, such as walking, running, cycling or swimming, focuses on your heart and blood vessels. Aerobic activities involve repetitive, large muscle movements that increase your heart rate and change your breathing pattern, increasing the amount of oxygen you take in and speeding up delivery of oxygen to your liver and other vital body organs.

Anaerobic exercise, such as weight training, improves the overall strength in both bones and muscles. Maintaining bone strength as well as muscle strength is especially important for women, as liver disease often leaves bones susceptible to osteoporosis. In addition, weight training reduces body fat, increases your lean body mass and improves your metabolism.

Flexibility exercise, such as stretching, improves the range of motion of your joints and muscles, and can help prevent common problems like back injuries.

It may seem strange, but regular light to moderate exercise is one of the best ways to fight fatigue.

People who exercise regularly experience less fatigue, have increased body strength and feel better about themselves. It can be a very effective way to fight depression.

How Do I Start?

If you’re not used to exercising regularly, it can be daunting to work out how to start. Begin by setting some short- and long-term goals. These goals should be achievable, specific, measurable, and time-limited.

Start slowly, exercising for 5-15 minutes 2-3 times each week: try walking, running, yoga, Tai Chi, dancing, gardening, swimming, cycling or Pilates—any activity that helps energise you rather than completely exhausting you. Remember to include regular stretching in your routine to avoid muscle injuries.

Work your way up to 30 minutes of activity, 5 days per week. This is an ideal amount of time to help you improve or maintain good physical health.

Once you’re comfortable with this, you can exercise more often or for longer if you want, but remember not to overdo it. If you exercise too hard, you might end up feeling overtired or run-down, which can make you more likely to injure yourself, or to give up exercising altogether and undo all the good work you’ve achieved so far.