Enel Health®Atlas
Sign in
Enel Health®Atlas
Browse libraries

Not medical advice. The Atlas is not a substitute for a clinician who can examine you.

Shilajit

Shilajit (Mineral pitch, fulvic acid complex)

Evidence grade 2 of 5, Thin. Read how the Atlas grades evidence.

The written rationale for this grade is still being prepared.

FDA
Not FDA evaluated (dietary supplement)

Reference only. Not medical advice.

What can go wrong

Unpurified shilajit may contain lead, arsenic, mercury, and fungal contaminants. Only purified, third-party-tested products should be considered. Possible interactions through its iron content; caution in iron-overload conditions (e.g., hemochromatosis).

This is something to take to a clinician. The Atlas can tell you what is known about shilajit in general. It cannot tell you what is happening in your body, and the difference matters most for exactly the symptoms that bring people to this page.

A tar-like exudate from Himalayan and other high mountain rocks, standardized for supplements by fulvic-acid content. A small trial of purified shilajit reported a modest testosterone increase, but evidence is limited and contamination (heavy metals) is a real concern with unpurified product. Promising-but-preliminary, with sourcing and purity as the dominant practical issues.

A Himalayan tar standardized to fulvic acid, with one small purified-extract trial.

What people take it for

These are the reasons people give for taking it. They are not effects it has been shown to have.

  • Reported testosterone support
  • Energy and fatigue
  • Mineral/iron supplementation (traditional)
  • Cognitive claims

How it is supposed to work

Fulvic acid and associated compounds are proposed to support mitochondrial energy production and antioxidant status, with a possible secondary effect on steroidogenesis. The pathway to any testosterone effect is not well characterized in humans.

Purity is the real story

Raw shilajit can carry heavy metals, mycotoxins, and other contaminants. The single supportive testosterone trial used a purified, standardized extract; results cannot be assumed for raw or poorly processed products, which also carry direct safety risk.

What people get wrong

  • Often saidAll shilajit is the same

    ActuallyFar from it. Purity varies enormously, and unpurified product can be contaminated with heavy metals. Only the trial-grade purified extract has any supportive data.

Who profits, and who pushes back

  • Premium-wellness and biohacker brands

    Sells this. Has a commercial interest in a product sold as this compound, as of July 2026.

    Promotes itModerate

    Marketed as a premium 'mineral' tonic; purity claims central to positioning

How we got here

Shilajit has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries as a rasayana and 'destroyer of weakness,' traditionally collected from rock crevices in the Himalayas and other high ranges during warm months. Modern interest centers on standardized fulvic-acid extracts.

  1. AntiquityAyurvedic rasayana use
  2. 2016Pandit purified-extract testosterone study
  3. 2020sSurge in Western premium-supplement marketing

The market for this

What follows describes how this is bought and sold. It is not a buying guide and it is not an endorsement of any seller.

Source only purified, third-party-tested (heavy-metal screened) products; raw resin of unknown origin carries genuine contamination risk.

At a glance

Origin
Himalayan and high-altitude rock
Active marker
Fulvic acid, dibenzo-alpha-pyrones
Key concern
Heavy-metal contamination if unpurified
Typical dose
250-500 mg purified/day

What this entry does not yet cover

What follows is unfinished work on our side, not a finding about Shilajit. A short entry is not a safe entry.

  • Cost and market. We have not documented what it sells for or who sells it.
  • Supply chain. We have not mapped where it is made.
  • Who uses it. We have not documented the user groups.
  • What could change. No forward-looking summary yet.
  • How it compares. We have not set it against the alternatives.
  • Children and teenagers. We have not checked what is known about younger people.
  • Where we land. We have not taken a position on this yet.

Sources

The studies below are named and described, but not linked. You cannot open them from here and check our reading against them, which means this page is our summary of the literature rather than a document you can verify. Weigh it accordingly until the links exist.

The studies that matter

  • Pandit et al. (Andrologia)2016

    Purified shilajit (250 mg twice daily) for 90 days reported increased total and free testosterone vs placebo in healthy volunteers aged 45-55; small sample limits strength and the work is associated with the ingredient supplier