longevitywatch

Does shilajit actually work as a supplement?

Preliminary evidence

Be careful. There is little strong evidence that shilajit works, it has no authorised novel-food status in the EU, and unregulated products can contain heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury.

Shilajit is a tar-like substance from rocks, sold for energy, testosterone and ageing. The human evidence is thin and mostly of low quality; solid health benefits have not been shown.

Legally the status is unclear: shilajit is not on the EU list of authorised novel foods and probably falls under the novel-food authorisation requirement.

The biggest practical risk is contamination: because of its geological origin, unpurified products can contain heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury), the main reason for warnings. If you still consider it: choose only a product independently tested for heavy metals, and be cautious.

The evidence
6 studies · ≈ 310 participants

Limited human evidence; EU novel-food status (not on the Union list) and the heavy-metals risk with unregulated products.

Last checked: August 2026 · how this was judged
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