The Fountain of Youth Lies Over Your Heart |
The thymus gland is an important part of the immune system that was thought to shrivel after puberty.
Two new studies show that the thymus actually functions into adulthood.
A healthy thymus can drastically cut disease and autoimmunity.
Bad habits can harm your thymus, but a better diet can help keep it healthy.
“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig.” — Marcus Aurelius
Another day, another dogma destroyed. Scientists don’t put a lot of stock in nostalgia. When new data shows up, we grieve for five minutes, then we gulp and accept it. Today’s old dogma is about our thymus, a gland that lies on top of our heart that is supposed to shrivel up after puberty, along with our pimples and idealism.
What toppled this paradigm were two studies from Mass General Brigham that used AI to examine thousands of CAT scans. They found that the thymus, although shrunken, still played a vital role, with a healthy thymus providing a 50% reduction in all-cause mortality. So, even in adults, the thymus is still ticking, and if yours is in good health, you’re in luck.
A superbly simple study from 2023 demonstrated that the thymus is not a bit player. The study looked at heart surgery patients, some of whom also had their thymus removed. When the researchers compared patients with and without a thymus, the news was stark. Over the next five years, people without a thymus had twice the risk........