Popular testosterone-boosting supplement is contaminated with toxins

On remote cliffsides in India's mountainous land grows the latest obsession among looksmaxxers and manosphere fixtures looking to boost their testosterone.

Shilajit is a sticky black goo influencers have dubbed a 'natural steroid' that boosts testosterone in healthy men and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) crowd hails it as a cure-all.

But a Bloomberg investigation has raised alarming questions about what's really in the supplements flooding the US market, including feces, heavy metals and industrial fillers. 

Traditionally stirred into water or milk, shilajit is now more commonly swallowed in pill or gummy form by wellness influencers and manosphere figures who have rebranded the traditional Tibetan medicine. 

But now, increased global demand for it has created a market of counterfeit and contaminated products. 

Thousands of brands claim their supplements are sourced from the world's highest peaks of the Himalayas, with prices ranging from $10 gummies to hundreds of dollars for 'pure' resin.

The reality is far less glamorous. Shilajit grows on cliffs also inhabited by pika, rat-like animals whose droppings are easily mistaken for the resin. Removing the feces requires days of meticulous filtering, a step many sellers skip. 

Even legitimate shilajit has been found to contain heavy metals like lead, while cheap versions are often cut with tar, asphalt, coal or fertilizer, experts warn.

Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has discussed shilajit on his podcast, though he has not revealed whether or not he takes the supplement or endorses it

The science behind shilajit is mixed but compelling. Studies suggest shilajit is rich in fulvic acid, a compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may support brain health and improve liver function.

A 2016 report in the journal Andrologia found that purified shilajit may boost testosterone levels in healthy men. 

Researchers gave 38 healthy men aged 45 to 55 either 250 mg of purified shilajit or a placebo twice daily for 90 days. 

By the end of the study, the shilajit group saw a 20 percent increase in total testosterone and a 19 percent increase in free testosterone compared to baseline, while the placebo group actually experienced a decline. 

Levels of DHEAs — a precursor to testosterone — also rose by more than 31 percent. 

The effects were modest but significant, and no serious side effects were reported. However, the study was small and funded by a shilajit manufacturer, an important caveat. 

Most research has been small-scale or preliminary, and experts caution that the booming market — more than $221 million globally, with North America accounting for more than a third — is poorly regulated, meaning what’s in the bottle may not match what's on the label.

A 2004 paper in JAMA that analyzed contaminants in popular herbal medicinal products found shilajit products sampled contained unsafe levels of the toxic heavy metal lead. 

Raw shilajit oozes from rock faces in the Himalayas, but it shares its cliffs with pika, rat-like animals whose droppings can easily be mistaken for the resin. Removing them requires days of filtering, a step many sellers skip (stock)

The supplement has found a devoted following among the Make America Healthy Again crowd— the health and wellness movement championed by HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr

‘It's a playground for counterfeiters,’ Georgios Antonopoulos, a criminology professor at Northumbria University, told Bloomberg. ‘If you see something too good to be true, it's probably fake.’

The disconnect between supply and soaring demand leaves consumers with a choice between paying a premium for lab-tested, authentic shilajit and risking ingestion of something far less pure.

‘When you buy natural, natural does not necessarily mean safe,’ Leonel Rojo Castillo, a Chilean researcher who’s studying the potential memory benefits of shilajit found in the Andes, told the outlet.

Aditya Sumbria, a shilajit forager, sells shilajit in small batches for $30 per 10 grams, traveling for days across avalanche-prone terrain and sleeping in caves to reach remote sources.

But demand from the US keeps him going. He tests his products for metals in an independent lab and uses traditional herbs to filter impurities - steps he claims many sellers skip.

He is skeptical of the massive online market, noting it took him years to find a source and that authentic shilajit is scarce.

‘Everyone says what they sell is from Himalaya,’ Sumbria said. ‘People believe anything.’

Experts warn that cheap shilajit supplements are often cut with tar, asphalt or fertilizer and may contain heavy metals (stock)

Shilajit is sold as a dietary supplement, not a drug. This means it falls under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which has very loose rules.

Under current law, companies do not need FDA approval before putting shilajit products on shelves and there is no requirement for pre-market testing to prove they are safe, pure or accurately labeled.

The FDA only steps in after problems arise, such as contamination or false health claims.

Because oversight is weak, there is no guarantee that the bottle’s contents are free from harmful contaminants. Independent lab testing is the only reliable way to verify purity, but it is not required by US law.

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Other countries have stricter rules, however. For example, Australian authorities have taken a different approach to shilajit. 

While the substance is not banned outright, it is tightly regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the country's drug and supplement regulator.

Many shilajit products in Australia were found to contain dangerous heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic.

Because of these risks, most shilajit products cannot be legally sold in Australia with health claims unless they are registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) - and very few are.

Individuals may import small amounts for personal use under strict conditions, but commercial sale is heavily restricted.

Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr with questions about shilajit, its popularity in MAHA and its lack of regulation, but has not received answers.