Cycling: The New Fountain of Youth?

Mar 10th 2018

Photo courtesy of Farrukh via Flickr

No matter who or where you are right now, you, me and everyone else have one thing in common: we're aging. Some of us, according to a new study, are better at it than others, these people are called cyclists and we've got the science to back it. 

New studies published in medical journal Aging Cell, have found older long term cyclists have the immune systems similar to adults in their 20's. They studied 125 adults aged 55–79 years who were long term cyclists, 75 adults aged 55- 79 who were not cyclists/ regular exercisers, and 55 young adults also not involved in regular exercise. 

Photo courtesy of Eelke Dekker via Flickr

Older long term cyclists did not show the regular signs of aging, and instead retained their muscle mass, strength and did not gain body fat. 

Our immune system produces T-cells, which are responsible for killing virally or bacterially infected cells, eradicating cancer cells, and aid the immune system in making antibodies. As we get older, our immune system produces fewer  T-cells every year we age- about 2% - 3% less than the year before. This decline is called immunesenescence. The study showed that all of the subjects in the study who were long term cyclists did not experience immunesenescence and instead had an immune system that produced the same amount of T-cells as people who are in their 20's. 

There's already scientific research that shows long term cyclists and exercisers have much less cardiovascular disease, obesity and much less risk of many types of cancers, and show much higher levels of mental health and physical ability. 

Moral of the story? Cycling is anti-aging. It keeps your body and mind strong, well into your senior years, and if you keep at it, you'll have an immune system that rivals most 20 year olds. 

Source: 

Aging Cell: Major features of immunesenescence, including reduced thymic output, are ameliorated by high levels of physical activity in adulthood