(photo cred : Super Man Herbs)
Looks delicious right? That right there is shilajit, a mineral pitch that oozes out of rocks in the Himalayas in the heat of summer. What actually is it? It’s thought to be an ancient ecosystem, a once-pristine forest that has been highly compressed and thoroughly decomposed during the formation of the Himalayan mountains.
Shilajit is one of the coolest substances in my eyes. As the story goes, thousands of years back in India, people noticed that monkeys would climb up to the rocks of the Himalayas in the summer time to consume a black, sticky tar that oozed out between the cracks. After consuming this gooey substance, the monkeys would be filled with energy, bouncing around like maniacs and making sweet, sweet monkey love.
Naturally, as is so apt to happen back in those days, the humans who saw this immediately became curious and decided to collect some and consume it themselves. Indeed, they too noticed an increase in energy, longer lifespans and the ever-sought after increase in libido. They named this strange new substance shilajit, literally “rock-invincible”, translated as “Conqueror of Mountains and Destroyer of Weakness”.
Within Ayurveda, India’s traditional system of health and medicine, shilajit is one of the most powerful known rasayanas, a substance which increases strength and is highly rejuvenating. It is said that there is no disease which shilajit cannot cure, and that it possesses a rare property known as yogavahi, meaning it helps make any other substance taken with it multitudes more effective.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s all just old wives’ tales,” I hear you thinking. Let’s delve into some facts about shilajit…
Let’s start with it’s claims of being a rasayana. According to Segen’s Medical Dictionary, a rasayana is “Any of a number of health-promoting regimens that a person uses regularly to maintain health and harmony, activate tissue repair and arrest or reverse the effects of aging.” Does shilajit fit the bill?
According to this study, “Shilajit is an important, known component of the ayurvedic medicine given its characteristics as a rasayana. In this context, health benefits such as an increase in longevity, rejuvenating, and arresting aging roles have been attributed to it.”
“The Sherpas [people who carry luggage for Westerners up Mt. Everest] claim to have shilajit as part of their diet; they constitute a population of strong men with very high levels of a healthy longevity. Our laboratory has found evidence on the high activity of the Andean form of shilajit in improving cognitive disorders and as a stimulant of cognitive activity in humans.”
So far so good. Shilajit has been found to be roughly 60% humic substances, a main component of which is fulvic acid. Humic substances are by-products of microorganisms’ decomposition of plant material and have profound health benefits. Unfortunately, ever since we humans switched from eating wild plants fresh from nature to growing our own crops, and especially with the widespread use of poor agricultural practices and over-sanitization of foodstuffs, modern humans are getting very little to no humic and fulvic acids.
Why are humic and fulvic acids so critical to health? Because “fulvic acid derived from humate usually contains 60 or more minerals and trace elements that are nutritionally essential for cell health and balance (including cell growth and replication)” They also help “transport minerals to living cells, catalyzing vitamins within cells, and metabolizing proteins, RNA, and DNA”. Fulvic acid also acts as a powerful organic electrolyte, antioxidant, and is a natural chelator, binding to and removing toxins from the body.
As this study states, “It is likely that the curative properties attributable to shilajit are provided by the significant levels of fulvic acids that shilajit contains, considering that fulvic acid is known by its strong antioxidant actions and likely has systemic effects.” Further, “considering the actions of fulvic acid in preventing tau self-aggregation into pathological filaments, this compound appears to be of interest for prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.”
I think it’s safe to say shilajit definitely fits the bill of a rasayana.
Because of fulvic acid’s ability to increase the bioavailability of nutrients consumed with it, it makes perfect sense that it would possess the quality of yogavahi, the quality attributed to shilajit that increases the potency of medicines consumed with it. Amazingly the ancient yogis and Ayurvedic practitioners recognized this ability long before fulvic acids were discovered.
How does shilajit hold up as an “energizer”? Turns out that one of the substances within shilajit, dibenzo-a-pyrones (DBP) boosts energy production at the cellular level. Fulvic acids whisk away DBP right into your mitochondria, those hard working little power plants in your cells, increasing the availability of electrons to be used for energy. Further, fulvic acids themselves speed and facilitate the flow of electrons into your mitochondria. The result? More ATP, the “currency of life” your mitochondria use to fuel your every action. (sources)
BONUS BIO-HACK – The combination of Shilajit with CoQ-10 resulted in a 144% ATP production with the muscle cells of mice, and a full 56% increase in ATP (energy) within the brain.. Yowza. A two month supply of highly absorbable CoQ-10 + Shilajit is available from Amazon.
And libido? Researchers at the J. B. Roy State Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital in India gave shilajit to infertile men. After 3 months at 200 mg a day, total sperm count increased by a whopping 61.4% and testosterone rose 23.5%. While this was with infertile men and not healthy specimens, I’d say it was a pretty effective treatment.
Shilajit is rich in a variety of other healing compounds, including “eldagic acid, some fatty acids, resins, latex, gums, albumins, triterpenes, sterols, aromatic carboxylic acids, 3,4-benzocoumarins, amino acids, polyphenols, and phenolic lipids”. To the layman, a cocktail of healing and energy-promoting substances. It’s also chockfull of trace minerals, all in ionic form and bound to fulvic acids, which means they’ll actually be absorbed, unlike some common mineral supplements.
Finally, shilajit has been found to have/be a, “antiulcerogenic properties; antioxidant properties; cognitive and memory enhancer; antidiabetic properties; anxiolytic [stress reducing]; antiallergic properties and immunomodulator; anti-inflammatory; analgesic [pain relieving]; antifungal properties; ability to interact positively with other drugs; protective properties in high altitudes; neuroprotective agent against cognitive disorders”.
How’s that sound to you? Pretty extensive list of benefits going on there, and all from one ancient and natural substance.
As with so many other things in life, you get what you pay for. Good deals can be found, but there are a ton of poor quality and even fake shilajits out there. The highest quality I’ve found so far is Lotus Blooming Herbs’ Shilajit – it’s $60 for just ten grams, but you only need a pea sized amount dissolved in water 1-3 times a day. Super Man Herbs carries a very nice shilajit as well, in both powder and pill forms, and I’ve also used Dragon Herbs’ Shilajit, which is reasonably priced and comes in pill form.