What is The Thymus Gland?

The thymus is a small organ in your chest, just behind your breastbone, that plays a big role in your immune system when you're a child. As you grow older, it gets smaller and less active, often almost disappearing by adulthood. The thymus is key for creating special immune cells called T-cells, which help fight viruses and keep abnormal cell growth in check. Because of this, thymus extracts are sometimes used to support the immune system.

Symptoms of Thymus Deficiency

There is no condition caused by an insufficient thymus. In fact, the thymus gland performs its function of prepping our T-cell immune base to completion during childhood. Function slows in puberty, and by adulthood, the thymus has been mostly replaced by fat cells. There is no evidence of the thymus performing any function after puberty. Interestingly, children who have their thymus removed prior to puberty grow up to become adults who go through premature immune system aging, resulting in more opportunistic infections at an earlier age. It is suggested that their thymus did not complete its immune training prior to removal. This is the closest to a deficiency that has ever been reported.

What is Thymus Glandular?

It is theorized that supplementing with thymus glandular extracted from bovine (cow), porcine (pig), or ovine (sheep) sources can help to supplement the immune system. There is very little evidence available from research, which may be due to the research limitations shared by all glandular extracts. Also, the fact that the thymus does not play a large role in the adult immune system leaves this supplementation less supported.

How Do I Take Thymus Glandular?

Generally speaking, thymus glandular is found in combination products with other glandular extracts in small doses. There is no generally accepted dose, and each label's suggested dosing recommendations should be followed unless otherwise recommended by a healthcare professional. Check out our top-selling Thymus Glandular supplements

Important Information

There is little supportive evidence for the use of thymus glandular to help promote immune health. The thymus plays the largest role in immune health during childhood, but safety testing has not been performed on supplementation in children.