Effects of physical activity upon the liver

Abstract

Regular moderate physical activity enhances liver health. Adverse functional changes can develop if habitual activity is inadequate, and extremely prolonged competitive exercise may also be harmful, particularly under harsh environmental conditions.

Inflammatory Cytokines in General and Central Obesity and Modulating Effects of Physical Activity

“…The differences observed only within the obese, as well as the generally strong relationship to BMI, may relate to the finding that exercise and diet impact on most inflammatory mediators within AT but not within skeletal muscle [35]. Next to weight and body mass, physical activity may further mitigate inflammation by improving endothelial function, increasing insulin sensitivity, enhancing liver health and increasing tissue angiogenesis and blood flow [32, 36, 37]. Cytokine changes have also been observed in psychiatric disorders associated with disturbed wakefulness regulation and altered physical activity, such as mania and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [38].…”

Effects of supplementation with branched chain amino acids and ornithine aspartate on plasma ammonia and central fatigue during exercise in healthy men

“…It is very likely that the supplemented OA was available for ammonia metabolism in the liver, but the splanchnic blood flow was so limited by exercise that its action could not be significant. After cessation of exercise when liver blood flow increased [46,53] ammonia degradation became significantly faster in BCAA + OA than in the placebo trial. Improved recovery capacity is very important in daily activities or sports with repeated efforts with short breaks between them.…”

“…During prolonged exercise of constant intensity and graded exercise with subsequent workloads without any breaks the influence of OA on ammonia was limited, possibly due to decreased splanchnic (especially liver) blood flow [46]. The supposed site of detoxification action of OA in hepatocytes [47] by stimulation of urea cycle and glutamine synthesis [33] can be systematically effective only when sufficient blood flow through the liver is maintained.…”

Physical Activity and the Biliary Tract in Health and Disease

“…A recent review from our laboratory examined the effects of acute and chronic physical activity upon the liver in health and disease [11]; however, in the interests of brevity, this analysis deliberately excluded material related to the gallbladder and the biliary tract. At least 13 nonsystematic reviews (Table 1) of varying relevance have been published over the past two decades [3,5,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”