“Everything that was placed within our body is necessary; our design was created to bring health and longevity. We have access to our defence and armour; we just need to put it on.”
The thymus is a small, two-lobed organ, located in the center of the chest, and it is part of the lymphatic system. Its main role is to help immature T cells—which are produced in the bone marrow—develop into fully functional immune cells. These cells first enter the cortex of the thymus, where they mature and specialize. Eventually, they become key defenders that help the body recognize and fight off foreign invaders.
Why do we need the thymus gland?
The medical industry removes the thymus gland when diseased—the procedure is known as a thymectomy—for cases of myasthenia gravis or thymic tumors (thymoma). Little do they know that they are removing a dormant gland needing renewal. If they were taught the importance of the gland, they would find ways to preserve it rather than discarding it. It is true that inflammation or hormonal changes can cause the thymus to temporarily shrink (atrophy), which reduces T cell production and increases the number of cells that die during development. But it is also true that “the thymus demonstrates high plasticity, shaping inflammation by abrogating T cell development and undergoing profound structural changes, and facilitating regeneration and restoration of T cell development once inflammation is resolved.”[1]
For infants requiring heart surgery the thymus is proportionally very large and positioned directly in front of the heart and the main coronary arteries. For access to the heart the thymus is often partially or totally removed allowing better surgical access, which brings lifelong health consequences and immune deficiency. When removed, it increases the risk of cancer, in case of children, it leaves them vulnerable for sickness and bound to drugs their entire life. “Current studies indicate that complete or partial thymectomy results in accelerated aging of the immune system and reduces T-cell diversity, which may consequently lead to increased susceptibility to autoimmune or neurodegenerative disease.”[2]
When it comes to long-term consequences, the numbers are not promising at all, according to a population-based cohort study.[3] Compared to the general population, those who had their thymus removed showed higher chances of developing several conditions, including:
- hypothyroidism (almost 5 times higher risk)
- juvenile idiopathic arthritis (about 85% higher risk)
- rheumatic diseases (about 90% higher risk)
- celiac disease (about 2 times higher risk)
- cancer (about 60% higher risk)
- infections overall (more than 3 times higher risk)
- asthma (about 80% higher risk)
Thymectomy does not only mean that someone becomes more susceptible to the conditions mentioned above, other studies indicate that it is more likely to lead to fatal consequences. According to an article[4] published in Science, people who underwent thymectomy had significantly worse outcomes compared to those who did not: within about five years, they were nearly three times more likely to die. These findings, as many others, suggest that the thymus plays an important role in maintaining immune function even in adulthood.
Lifestyle choices influence inflammation
Declining thymus function—due to aging, inflammation, or lifestyle factors like smoking and obesity—weakens the immune system, reducing its ability to respond to new threats and making disease more likely. This can lead to chronic inflammation in the body, which can quietly reshape even the bone marrow in ways that lead to a diseased state over time. Researchers[5] found that with aging and long-term inflammation, inflammatory support cells gradually replace healthy ones, creating a harmful environment that weakens normal blood production and allows mutated stem cells to expand unnoticed—a condition known as CHIP, which increases the risk of blood cancers, heart disease, and early death. Inflammatory signals and immune cells form a self-sustaining loop that keeps inflammation active and disrupts normal function. This means that targeting inflammation or the bone marrow “ecosystem” could help prevent or slow the development of serious conditions like myelodysplastic syndrome and leukemia. Inflammation is considered as an early trigger of disease, and this is why prevention and treatment—by focusing on the environment in which these cells live—is crucial.
The thymus gland is clearly an integral component of the neuroendocrine system, which exhibits typical age-related decrements. Previous research with a number of nutritional and/or pharmacological substances has proven that aspects of impaired immune function can be restored to more youthful, healthy levels.
We have written newsletters on glandular therapy, the oldest medicine on earth, used by the Chinese 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. I have also shared my clinical experience using it with my AIDS patients, and how it was able to keep their T cells up and maintaining their immunity. Our staff and I use it for infections like you would antibiotics and instead of flu shots for the cold and flu season. Why? Because thymus gland extract or “Thymic Protein A (TPA), made from calf thymus, has been shown to have immune-modulating and antiviral properties. It supports helper T lymphocytes, reverses thymus atrophy, and strengthens T cell differentiation.”[6]
In case of thymic injury and degeneration, thymus extracts may provide a solution to chronic viral infections and low immune function. Double blind studies with groups of children with a history of recurrent respiratory tract infections showed that orally administered thymus extracts were able to effectively eliminate infection. The treatment, over the course of a year, also significantly reduced the number of respiratory infections and significantly improved numerous immune parameters.[7]
After COVID-19 the buzz treatment was Ivermectin. Yes, it has many positive attributes but there is no guarantee it will work for most people. As a naturopath I know of many powerful drugs, Ivermectin being one, but I have never been a fan of chasing drugs when we have access to powerful natural health products with no side effects. I have witnessed Thymus Gland with other supportive formulas improve AIDS, strengthen immunity, treat bacterial infections, treat Evan’s Syndrome, lymphoma, and various forms of cancer. In clinical practice a higher dosage is needed than what is written on the label.
Life Choice Thymus Gland is a concentrate of the whole gland (not extract) and is derived from organic, New Zealand range-grazed ovine (sheep). The grasslands are non-fertilized, and the animals are not administered feed supplements, hormones or antibiotics. The glands are quick frozen, never exceeding -5°C. Their cellular structure is not damaged and are preserved in a biologically active live state. Source materials are not subjected to organic or aqueous solvents and therefore no chlorohydrocarbon remain as residue in the tissues.
Everything that was placed within our body is necessary; our design was created to bring health and longevity. We should be able to live to 120 years disease free but we have been placed into a toxic world, and we need to be proactive in eating healthy and avoiding toxins. It is a battle out there but we have access to our defence and armour, we just need to put it on.
Life Choice products we recommend:
- Thymus Gland
- Boron
- Pure Vitamin C
- Zinc Picolinate
- Thyrodine
- Next Generation Super Multi-vitamin
- Laktokhan
References:
- Fiocchi, A et al. 1986. A double-blind clinical trial for the evaluation of the therapeutical effectiveness of a calf thymus derivative (Thymomodulin) in children with recurrent respiratory infections. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3544353/
- Gudmundsdottir, Judith et al. 2017. Long Term Effects of Early Childhood Thymectomy: A Population-Based Cohort Study of Association with Autoimmune Disease, Cancer, Infectious and Atopic Diseases. https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/long-term-effects-of-early-childhood-thymectomy-a-population-based-cohort-study-of-association-with-autoimmune-disease-cancer-infectious-and-atopic-diseases/
- Mercola, Joseph. 2023. Could Your Thymus Be the Key to Fighting Cancer? https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2023/12/22/thymus.aspx
- Pérez, Mario Ruiz et al. 2024. The thymus road to a T cell: migration, selection, and atrophy. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1443910/full
- Prummel, Karin D. 2025. Inflammatory stromal and T cells mediate human bone marrow niche remodeling in clonal hematopoiesis and myelodysplasia. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65803-y
- Reardon, Sara. 2023. Doctors have long considered the thymus expendable. But could removing it be fatal? https://www.science.org/content/article/doctors-have-long-considered-thymus-expendable-could-removing-it-be-fatal
- Stosio, Małgorzata et al. 2017. The significance of neonatal thymectomy for shaping the immune system in children with congenital heart defects. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5767777/
[1] Pérez, Mario Ruiz et al. 2024.
[2] Stosio, Małgorzata et al. 2017.
[3] Gudmundsdottir, Judith et al. 2017.
[4] Reardon, Sara. 2023.
[5] Prummel, Karin D. 2025.
[6] Mercola, Joseph. 2023.
[7] Fiocchi, A et al. 1986.