Today we’re talking about something that has been getting a lot of attention in the longevity and wellness space, and that’s shilajit.
You may have seen it in capsules, powders, resin, or increasingly, in convenient gummy form. And the claims around it can be pretty impressive: more energy, better mitochondrial function, improved testosterone, better exercise performance, collagen production, healthy aging, and even longevity.
So naturally, the question becomes: What is shilajit actually doing, and how much of this is supported by human research?
Let’s break it down.
What Exactly Is Shilajit?
Shilajit is a dark, sticky, mineral-rich substance that naturally forms in mountainous regions, particularly throughout the Himalayas. It’s essentially a complex mixture of organic compounds and minerals that develops from plant and microbial material over very long periods of time.
It’s been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, where it’s traditionally considered a rasayana (ra-sigh-anna), or a substance intended to promote vitality and healthy aging.
Shilajit is a really complex natural substance. It contains fulvic acid, humic compounds, minerals, antioxidants, and several other bioactive molecules. And researchers believe that this combination—not necessarily one single ingredient—may be responsible for many of the effects we’re seeing in the research, particularly around cellular energy, oxidative stress, inflammation, and connective-tissue health.
One of the major areas researchers are interested in is its potential effect on cellular energy and mitochondrial function.
The theory is that some of these compounds may help with mitochondrial efficiency, oxidative stress, and the transport of nutrients and other molecules into cells.
Now, I want to emphasize that we have much more preclinical research than we have large, long-term human clinical trials.
But we do have some human data, and that’s what makes shilajit particularly interesting.
What Does the Human Research Actually Show?
Let’s start with probably the most talked-about benefit: testosterone.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in Andrologia looked at healthy men between 45 and 55 years old.
The men received either placebo or 250 milligrams of purified shilajit twice a day, for a total of 500 milligrams daily, for 90 days.
At the end of the study, the shilajit group had significantly higher total testosterone, free testosterone, and DHEAS compared with placebo.
The increases were roughly around 20 percent for total testosterone and 19 percent for free testosterone.
Now, before we get too excited, there are some important caveats.
This was one relatively small study, it was conducted in healthy middle-aged men, and it doesn’t mean shilajit is a treatment for hypogonadism.
In other words, I wouldn’t look at this study and say, “Shilajit is testosterone replacement.”
That’s not what the evidence shows.
But it does suggest that purified shilajit may influence androgen physiology in certain populations.
And that’s a pretty interesting signal.
Shilajit and Bone Health
Another really interesting study looked at postmenopausal women with osteopenia.
Women were given either placebo, 250 milligrams of shilajit, or 500 milligrams of shilajit daily for 48 weeks.
The placebo group experienced progressive decreases in bone mineral density, while the shilajit groups had an attenuation of that bone loss.
The researchers also saw favorable changes in markers related to bone turnover, oxidative stress, and inflammation.
Now, again, this isn’t enough to say shilajit treats osteoporosis.
But when we’re talking about healthy aging, maintaining bone density is incredibly important.
And anything that potentially influences bone remodeling, inflammation, oxidative stress, and connective tissue becomes interesting.
And Then There’s Collagen
Another really interesting area of research is collagen production, particularly because collagen isn’t just about skin and wrinkles. It’s a major structural protein throughout the body. It’s found in our tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, skin, and other connective tissues.
One study I found particularly interesting looked at 35 healthy men who regularly participated in recreational resistance training. These weren’t elite athletes or people with a collagen-related disease. They were generally healthy, physically active men who were already exercising.
The researchers divided them into three groups. One group received a placebo, one received 500 milligrams of purified shilajit per day, and the third received 1,000 milligrams per day. They took their assigned treatment every day for eight weeks.
So what were the researchers actually looking for?
They weren’t simply asking, “Does your skin look younger?”
Instead, they wanted to see whether shilajit could influence the body’s production of type I collagen, which is one of the most abundant types of collagen in the human body.
To measure that, they looked at something called pro-C1α1.
Now, that sounds incredibly complicated, but essentially, pro-C1α1 is a building-block precursor involved in making type I collagen. Think of it as one of the materials your body produces when it’s gearing up to manufacture collagen.
And the results were interesting.
The men taking shilajit had increases in this collagen-related marker compared with placebo, with the 1,000-milligram dose producing the stronger response.
So, what does that actually mean?
It suggests that shilajit may be able to stimulate or support the body’s collagen-synthesis pathways.
And that’s potentially important because as we age, collagen production naturally declines. That affects much more than our skin. Changes in collagen turnover can also influence the integrity and recovery of tendons, ligaments, muscles, joints, bones, and other connective tissues.
But—and this is an important “but”—we have to be careful not to take this study too far.
The researchers measured a biomarker of collagen synthesis. They did not prove that the men developed stronger tendons, fewer injuries, fewer wrinkles, or better joint function.
So I wouldn’t say, “Shilajit builds collagen and therefore it’s going to make your joints stronger.”
That’s not what this study demonstrated.
What we can say is that the study provides an interesting biological signal that shilajit may influence collagen production, and that gives us a potential explanation for some of the interest in shilajit for skin, connective tissue, exercise recovery, and healthy aging.
And I think that’s where this gets particularly interesting.
We’re starting to see several different pieces of the puzzle—energy metabolism, exercise performance, oxidative stress, and now collagen-related pathways.
We still need larger and longer human studies to determine whether those biochemical changes actually translate into meaningful improvements in how people look, feel, perform, or recover.
But it’s a pretty fascinating area of research, and definitely one worth watching.
What About Energy, Exercise, and Fatigue?
There’s also some interesting research looking at physical performance.
One randomized controlled trial gave recreationally active men either 250 milligrams, 500 milligrams, or placebo for eight weeks.
The 500-milligram group demonstrated better retention of muscular strength following a fatiguing exercise protocol. Researchers also observed changes in hydroxyproline, which is associated with collagen and connective-tissue metabolism.
And there is newer research emerging in 2026 looking at shilajit and exercise performance.
One small pilot study gave healthy men 500 milligrams of shilajit daily for 28 days. The researchers reported improvements in leg-press strength, muscle endurance, fatigue scores, and some other performance markers.
But this was an open-label, single-arm study without a placebo group, so it should be considered preliminary.
That’s an important distinction.
We can say the results are interesting.
We cannot say the study proves shilajit improves athletic performance.
So How Does Shilajit Actually Work?
This is where things get complicated.
There probably isn’t one mechanism.
Shilajit contains fulvic acids, dibenzo-alpha-pyrones, minerals, and numerous other compounds.
Researchers are investigating potential effects on things like mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling, cellular energy metabolism, collagen and connective-tissue remodeling, and potentially hormonal signaling.
One of the interesting concepts is that shilajit may support the body’s ability to produce and utilize cellular energy rather than simply acting like a stimulant.
You’re not taking shilajit because you want a giant nervous-system spike.The idea is more about supporting the underlying cellular machinery involved in energy production.
And that’s one reason it has become popular in the longevity space.
How Much Should You Take?
When we look at the human clinical research, the doses are actually fairly reasonable.
For purified, standardized shilajit, you’re generally seeing 250 to 500 milligrams per day in many of the human studies, the same doses used in the testosterone, bone, and exercise studies we just discussed. While the collagen study used 500 or 1,000 milligrams per day.
Just keep in mind that if you’re looking at shilajit, I wouldn’t automatically assume that more is better.
Most importantly, you want a quality product that’s purified. Which brings me to what I think is probably the most important issue with shilajit. Quality matters a lot.
Quality
Because shilajit comes from geological material, contamination is a legitimate concern.
You want a product that has been appropriately purified and tested for contaminants and heavy metals.
And this is an area where I think consumers need to be especially careful.
A recent concern has been thallium, in addition to the more commonly discussed heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury.
So I would much rather see someone use a standardized, purified extract from a reputable manufacturer than a mysterious “raw Himalayan resin” with no meaningful certificate of analysis.
So when we’re talking about shilajit, the source matters.
On a more personal note, my husband has actually been using shilajit for about two years now.
And this is one of those situations where I always like to separate someone’s personal experience from what the clinical research actually proves.
He will tell you that he can genuinely tell a difference when he’s taking shilajit consistently.
He says he feels like he has more energy, feels stronger during his workouts, and recovers better afterward.
Now, obviously, that’s his personal experience. We can’t take one person’s experience and say, “This proves shilajit works.”
But I think it’s interesting that what he’s noticing lines up with some of the areas researchers are actually studying, particularly energy metabolism, exercise performance, strength preservation, fatigue, and recovery.
And that’s part of why I’ve continued to be interested in shilajit.
Like I just said, when you’re looking at a supplement like this, I think quality and sourcing are incredibly important.
That’s one reason my husband uses Organifi’s Shilajit Gummies.
Organifi uses PrimaVie® Shilajit, which is a purified and standardized form of shilajit rather than simply giving you an unprocessed piece of raw resin.
And that’s important because standardization gives us much more consistency in what we’re actually consuming.
The product is also tested for potency and efficacy, which is another important part of quality control. I know we have discussed this in multiple episodes before in the context of peptides, but when you’re taking a supplement, you want confidence that you’re actually getting the amount and quality of the active ingredient you’re expecting, not just trusting what’s printed on the front of the bottle.
PrimaVie has also been the form of shilajit used in several of the human clinical studies we’ve been talking about, including research looking at testosterone and exercise-related outcomes.
That’s much more reassuring to me than a product that simply says “pure Himalayan shilajit” on the label.
And if you’re going to experiment with it, I would focus on three things.
Number one: use a purified, standardized product, like Organifi’s Shilajit Gummies.
Number two: stay within doses that have actually been studied, generally around 250 to 500 milligrams per day.
And number three: think of it as a potential adjunct to a healthy lifestyle, not a replacement for sleep, resistance training, adequate protein, good nutrition, and metabolic health.
Because ultimately, longevity isn’t about finding one magical molecule.
It’s about combining small, intentional choices that can add up to meaningful benefits over time.
And shilajit may be one of those interesting little pieces of the puzzle.
Thanks again for listening to The Peptide Podcast.
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Until next time, be well, and have a happy, healthy week.
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