How to test Shilajit resin from the Himalayas

Most are imitations or are either:

• Real, but contain non-beneficial or even harmful fillers 
• Very low grade quality
• Similar looking substances like mummyo or ozokerite
• Contain no Shilajit at all.

Most fake Shilajit is offered in easily counterfeited tincture (liquid) or powder (sometimes in capsules) forms. But in recent years, the resin form has also been commonly imitated. A variety of creative solutions are used to manufacture fake products including use of coal, charcoal, and fertilizers to produce fulvic acid, a key active compound in Shilajit. Other disreputable brands simply put inactive ingredients and sometimes other herbs together.  

Why So Many Fake Products?

Shilajit counterfeiters exist because:

• It is one of the rarest substances in the world.
• It is difficult and costly to obtain.
• It is historically one of the most important and powerful compounds in Ayurveda and folk medicine.
• It is the top selling supplement of all time for male virility in the world with huge demand in Asia.

If it were easy and inexpensive to source the real thing, few imitations would exist because it would cost more to invent the concoctions than to offer the real thing. Sadly that is not the case and to bring this amazing adaptogenic mineral pitch to the US is a difficult, costly and sometimes dangerous endeavor.

Shilajit's Rarity

The graph below shows data from independent sources that reveal Shilajit is at the top of the list of the rarest things on Earth. Rarer and more expensive than saffron, 100-year balsamic vinegar, and the world's most expensive wine, Château Petrus '82. Search online for articles about fakes of these substances and you will find many for the same reasons that Shilajit is imitated. 

In addition to this herbal-mineral substance being rare, there are various grades and the top grade (Gold Grade) is the rarest of all. Hence many US companies offering it will claim they offer the highest grade, but the claims are false. Because Johann, our founder, personally treks through India to the high altitude Himalayas in an area revered by Ayurveda practitioners and its indigenous people, he is able to witness first-hand the rocks from which Authentic Shilajit is extracted. This is extremely important because while all purified resin is blackish, the rocks they come from vary in color and that determines its grade.  

Grades of Shilajit

Shilajit comes from millions of years of geothermal pressure acting on biomasses of plant materials and minerals. This natural process produces a tar-like pitch that glistens in the rocks in the Himalayan region during hot weather. The rocks in various locations are different colors and determine the grade. When the exudate is purified to remove it from the rock, the resulting resin is black or blackish making it impossible to distinguish the grade. So not only are there fake products, there are also many claims of lower quality shilajit being top grade. The grades have varying levels of value and are referred to by the colors of the rocks from which it emerges:

• Red and gold rock, (highest grade) - Gold Grade primarily used in Rasayana (rejuvenation) therapy.
• Black rock (mainly found in Nepal and Bhutan) - Iron Grade primarily used for imbalances of the Meda Dhatu (fat or adipose tissue system)
• Grey rock - Silver Grade primarily used for imbalances of the Maja Dhatu (Bone marrow/nervous system)
• Brown rock - Copper Grade primarily used for imbalances of the liver
• 5th grade, a useless substance made from animal feces (this is the most prevalent form of resin being sold)

How to Identify Original Shilajit That's Pure and Authentic

The original Shilajit purity test methods below will give you confidence yours is the real thing. Note that even low grade Shilajit that is pure and will pass these tests so it is important that you trust your supplier has verified the color of the rocks from which it was extracted. These Shilajit purity tests distinguish if a compound is or is not 100% Shilajit:

• Pliability - Melts in your hands becoming gooey and sticky. Alternately, if you place it in the refrigerator to cool, it will become very hard and shatter like glass when struck with a hammer. If you try this, be sure to encase it in a plastic bag so you don't make a mess or lose bits of your valuable supplement! Pure shilajit will always hold its form and not separate into clumps.
• Solubility – Dissolves in warm water or warm milk creating a golden or reddish liquid.
• Flame – Will not light on fire or burn like a candle. Heat shilajit with a mini blow torch. It will bubble and produce an ash that emanates outwards. But it WILL NOT BURN.
• Form –  Do not trust powder forms. Most powders on the market that have any shilajit at all contain between 2 and 30 percent. All powders have additives and fillers in them. Standardized extracts add fulvic acid, often the same used in fertilizer to create a standard percentage. No natural substance will have a standard percentage of anything!

Summary