A tar-like mineral resin from the Himalayas and Altai, used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. We explain what the research actually shows, how to take it safely and how to buy it in the UK, with every claim graded and cited.
Most of what you'll read about shilajit is written to sell it. This site sells nothing. We read the trials, say how strong the evidence is, and link every claim to the study behind it.
Every common claim, ranked by the quality of the human evidence behind it. No claim reaches strong evidence yet, because none has been confirmed by several independent trials.
Read the full benefits guideHigher testosterone in middle-aged men
One randomised trial, men aged 45 to 55, 500 mg a day for 90 days (Pandit 2016)
Bone density after the menopause
One randomised trial, 60 women, 250 or 500 mg a day for 48 weeks (Pingali 2022)
Faster healing of broken bones
One randomised trial, 160 patients with a broken shin bone, 1,000 mg a day for 28 days (Sadeghi 2020)
Sperm count and male fertility
One uncontrolled study, 28 men with low sperm counts (Biswas 2010)
Muscle strength and fatigue
One randomised trial in 63 young men; benefit only in a subgroup (Keller 2019)
Collagen production
One randomised trial in 35 young men measuring a blood marker (Neltner 2024)
Energy and exercise performance
One small 28-day study with no placebo group (Yadav 2026)
Cholesterol
One small 2003 trial in 30 students whose cholesterol was already normal (Sharma 2003)
Skin health
One small trial measuring skin blood flow and gene activity (Das 2019)
Memory and Alzheimer's
One trial of a combination product containing shilajit and B vitamins, in 82 people with Alzheimer's (Guzman-Martinez 2021)
Cancer
No human studies; nine lab and animal studies (Das 2026 review)
Start with what shilajit is, then work through the evidence, safety, dosing and buying.
The trials that found it safe used purified extracts tested for heavy metals. Unregulated resin sold online often isn't. Our safety and buying guides explain the UK legal limits and how to check a lab certificate.
None of these exactly. Most researchers think it forms from plant matter broken down by microbes over centuries, then mixed with minerals from the surrounding rock. Its exact origin is still debated.
From What is shilajit
One randomised, placebo-controlled trial found that 250 mg of purified shilajit twice a day for 90 days raised total and free testosterone in men aged 45 to 55 (Pandit et al., 2016). It has not been independently repeated, so we grade the evidence as moderate.
From Benefits
The human trials of purified shilajit reported no serious side effects, and blood tests of liver and kidney function stayed normal. Because the trials were small, uncommon side effects may not have been picked up.
From Safety
Most trials used 250 to 500 mg a day of purified shilajit. Start at the lower end. There is no evidence that taking more than 1,000 mg a day adds any benefit.
From How to take it
You can't reliably tell at home. The only meaningful check is a lab report for your batch showing its composition and heavy metal content. Ask the seller for it before you buy.
From Buying guide
We count 10 published human studies of shilajit on its own, 7 of them with a placebo group. Most of the 160 or so papers on shilajit in PubMed are animal, lab or chemistry studies, or reviews.
From Research
