The organ that shuts down at 25 and reduces longevity, what keeps it active, and why it matters in winter

«Those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.»

– Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby

In 2017, I presented an award to Greg Fahy, one of the scientists who has conducted the most research into how to regenerate the thymus.

Almost no one knows what the thymus is. And it is one of the pieces that explains why our defenses lose strength over the years.

It is a small gland located behind your sternum. That is where T-lymphocytes are trained, the cells that learn to recognize viruses your body has never seen before.

The problem is that it starts shrinking very early on. Over the years, it fills with fat and produces fewer and fewer new lymphocytes.

The good news is that it does not shut down the same way in everyone.

A British study analyzed 125 cyclists aged 55 to 79 who had been training for almost their entire adult lives. It compared them with sedentary people of their age and with young people.

The cyclists had more lymphocytes fresh out of the thymus than the sedentary group. And in that respect, they resembled young people.

The caveat: it is a comparison, not a trial. Perhaps those who are still on the bike at 70 started with better health. And they did not measure if they caught fewer colds.

But it points to something important.

The aging of your defenses is not just a matter of the calendar. It is also a matter of pedals.

Fahy is looking for drugs to regenerate the thymus. While we wait for those, I use what already has evidence, organized in a plan that you can start this winter.

Your 1% improvement for today. Compound benefit that accumulates.

This week, do three 30-minute sessions of cycling, brisk walking, or any exercise that makes you sweat. What counts is that it becomes a lifelong habit.

This is what I cover in the Longevity Workshop: how I train, sleep, and eat so that my defenses age as slowly as possible.

Remember that I am now selling only ONE access to the Longevity Workshop per day.

The price is set by Dutch auction.

It goes down throughout the day.

→ See the current price of the Longevity Workshop