Shilajit/Mumijo, anyone else tried it?

[Fluffy]

After reading about shilajit in a SOTT article week before last https://www.sott.net/article/364570-Shilajit-What-is-it-what-can-it-do-for-your-health , I bought some to give it a try. I purchased Pürblack as many who use shilajit rave mad about this particular brand, very expensive, $138 AUD for 30g. I have more on the way from Russia, its accredited and certified, can't find any reviews on it by anyone that speaks English, it's from Altay Farm and a hell of a lot cheaper, $22 AUD for 100g. I hope it's as good as the Pürblack because so far I'm impressed.

I received the jar on Thursday just gone, took a pea sized amount sublingual. That day I had a pain in the tummy and for the past 4 weeks being trying to fight off the tail end of influenza A, mostly a sore throat, low energy and swollen glands. Almost instantly my tummy pain settled, then I went to bed.
I woke in the morning from the best night sleep I've had in months, actually, I didn't want to get out of bed, I wanted to keep sleeping. I hadn't had any clear dreams in months but I dreamt heavily, vividly and could remember them with clarity. I worked out on Saturday morning at the gym, second time back since being sick. The previous Tuesday I had no energy and used very light weights, on Saturday I was full of beans with plenty to spare and back to my usual lifting weight.

I was thinking that if this is placebo then I don't care coz it's working. I got my 17 year old daughter to try some Saturday night and she said same thing about sleeping sound and vivid dreaming. My partner who is not so in tune with sensations and changes to his body tried some last night, he never dreams, woke up this morning from a night full of dreams (which he can't remember but knows he dreamt) and said he 'definitely' feels something different. That there was a huge statement from him. Also the other thing I noticed is that the fullness and sometimes ringing in my ears is gone in the past few days. I'v been taking my morning mumijo along side iodine, as an adaptogen, I can say I certainly feel a difference to how I felt 4 days ago.

So far this looks promising. Is anyone else trying it

 

[Ant22]

(...) So far this looks promising. Is anyone else trying it

Hey Fluffy, well, I haven't tried it yet but I bought it already and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

I have had unsuccessful experiences with supplements and dietary changes that worked for many other people so I prefer to be careful at first. It looks like what makes this substance work is high content of fulvic acid and minerals in their ionic form so nothing scary.

Thank you for your testimonial, I'm curious to see how it goes for me :)

 

[Fluffy]

(...) So far this looks promising. Is anyone else trying it

Hey Fluffy, well, I haven't tried it yet but I bought it already and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

I have had unsuccessful experiences with supplements and dietary changes that worked for many other people so I prefer to be careful at first. It looks like what makes this substance work is high content of fulvic acid and minerals in their ionic form so nothing scary.

Thank you for your testimonial, I'm curious to see how it goes for me :)

What brand did you get? I've been doing lots of research and the one I ordered from Russia made by Gorno Farm is being relabled in English and sold from California for $180 AUD, the same one from Russia is $20 AUD... wow, where do they get off!!

 

[Fluffy]

From America, labelled in English
https://m.ebay.com/itm/100g-Pure-Altai-Shilajit-Authentic-Organic-Resin-Mumijo-Mumiyo-Mumie-Shilajeet/263024045883?epid=815995815&hash=item3d3d746f3b:g:Wc8AAOSwYvFZN1jj

From Russia
https://m.ebay.com.au/itm/Pure-Altai-shilajit-resin-Mumiyo-Mumijo-Mumio-Free-shipping-/263029036625?var=&hash=item3d3dc09651%3Am%3AmIANdDoxM8YTeJlBUAGMp9A&_trkparms=pageci%253A6fcd76a4-b7d6-11e7-b92a-74dbd1804a27%257Cparentrq%253A489c5f3315f0ab6b055d1acefffebf36%257Ciid%253A1

I guess we have to be very aware of scams, counterfeit and contaminated products.
I've read that improperly cleaned mumie can be laden with heavy metals and mycotoxins. I'm fairly dubious myself so looked for one that was directly from manufacturer and laboratory tested. Apparently approx. 5% of the Russian population use mumie and so the accredition process is very strict.

 

[Ant22]

(...) So far this looks promising. Is anyone else trying it

Hey Fluffy, well, I haven't tried it yet but I bought it already and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

I have had unsuccessful experiences with supplements and dietary changes that worked for many other people so I prefer to be careful at first. It looks like what makes this substance work is high content of fulvic acid and minerals in their ionic form so nothing scary.

Thank you for your testimonial, I'm curious to see how it goes for me :)

What brand did you get? I've been doing lots of research and the one I ordered from Russia made by Gorno Farm is being relabled in English and sold from California for $180 AUD, the same one from Russia is $20 AUD... wow, where do they get off!!

I actually cancelled my order on my way to work with the plan to do additional research I am a strange case that gets negative symptoms from the most harmless of products and although my tendency to try out any miracle cure in existence has been largely successful, I have also had a few really bad experiences. What I'm totally sold on is the energy production, working with mitochondria and energy increase. I was super excited when I read your testimonial!

However, what I do need to look into a bit more is the effect of the ingredients on hormones. I've been trying to balance my hormones out with supplements, diet and lifestyle changes and I wouldn't like to reverse what I've already achieved. So far it looks like Shilajit is helpful on that end but someone with more balanced overall health profile is probably more likely to enjoy the benefits straight away, while others (such as yours truly) need to be a tad more careful.

Also, I have the Leiden V Factor gene mutation so I need to look into the anticoagulant properties of Shilajit as well. Not to mention hemochromatosis, which will require checking the iron content of this product.

If you don't mind me asking, apart from the residual flu symptoms, do you have any health conditions you're working on? I'm just trying to compare my health to those who have seen benefits :)

I'm even thinking of ordering it in a capsule form for a start. It's cheaper and probably less potent too but on a bright side, if the product doesn't agree with me I'll suffer less with a weaker version I'm looking at 2 brands, Jarrow Formulas (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jarrow-Formulas-Shilajit-Complex-Capsules/dp/B007LEO626/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1508752755&sr=1-1&keywords=shilajit) and Swanson (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swanson-Superior-Shilajit-Purified-Vegetarian/dp/B0044EBWBO/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1508752728&sr=8-3&keywords=shilajit).

Another option I'm considering is trying fulvic acid first, apparently it's the main ingredient in Shilajit.

However, if I don't discover anything suspicious I'll either go for the one from Russia as it's also available for delivery to the UK: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shilajit-Pure-Resin-Mumijo-Mumiyo-Organic-Altai-Mumie-Shilajeet-Authentic-3-50Oz-/263076976508?epid=897003336&hash=item3d409c177c:g:vfEAAOSwX61ZAlyz

Or this one directly from a UK seller: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALE-PURE-AUTHENTIC-ALTAI-SHILAJIT-100gms-PASTE-in-Jar-Mumijo-Mumiyo-Mumio-/182821261939?hash=item2a90ff1273:g:2CkAAOSwAvJXC9Y4


The article from SOTT you linked in your original post describes how to tell is Shilajit is genuine, which may in fact be very helpful:

How to Know If Your Shilajit Is Genuine

As shilajit becomes more popular and demand increases, fake and inferior products inevitably flood the market. Capsules and powders are often mixed with other ingredients, so how do you know if what you've bought is genuine shilajit?

To receive the health benefits mentioned above, it's crucial that you're buying and taking genuine shilajit. These original methods of testing shilajit will give you confidence as to whether you have the real thing:
Shilajit becomes harder at cold temperatures and softer and more malleable when warm
Shilajit should dissolve completely in warm water or milk, with no remaining bits
Shilajit should not dissolve in alcohol
Shilajit should have a strong, smoky, tar-like odour
Shilajit should have a strong and smoky tar-like taste
Shilajit will not light on fire or burn like a candle. If heated with a flame, it will bubble and produce an ash. But it will not burn like a candle.

Well, if I do order the paste the very first thing I'm going to do is put a bit of it in vodka! :) Both the UK and Russian seller accept returns within 14-30 days of delivery so if it's suspicious there's an option to get the money back.

So yeah, bear with me as I read up more about this curious little substance and research results permit I'll place my order again today or tomorrow!

 

[Fluffy]

Sorry Ant and everyone, this is going to be quick with a few links as I'm not feeling so crash hot, just so lethargic, spent an hour earlier posting links and quotes from links and then my wifi crashed and I lost it all.

Today, everyone in my family who is trying mumie are very tired. I worked out this morning for 2 hours, afterwards I was totally depleted even though through the workout felt strong and energetic. I'm looking at detox reactions, some say fatigue is a common early side effect. It could also be my diet sux a bit right now.

In response to Ant, I'm not the healthiest individual by a long shot, hence why I wanted to try mumie and am always looking for health solutions. I am lately reacting to smoking with rapid heart rate and malaise, I'll be quitting soon after the planned holiday next week. I also think my liver is not working so well and during my last 5 day fast I had quite severe uterine pain for the first 3 days, although regular in menstuation I feel also that my hormones aren't balanced, they appear to be in bloodwork results but I don't agree with what the doctors consider 'normal' to be. Actually I don't trust them at all about anything.

So here are a few links that I have found helpful regarding scientific studies on shilajit.

Check out from chapter 12 on a compilation of shilajit clinical studies.
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=5epGDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=shilajit+and+liver+function&source=bl&ots=T5RFX_crIq&sig=1aeu6YPJs6qtjxhFuqd7GiFHXA8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj02YPwiYjXAhVGKJQKHcg4ACU4ChDoAQhDMAQ#v=onepage&q=shilajit%20and%20liver%20function&f=false
I was specifically searching for liver function and shilajit so you might have to scroll back a bit to the beginning of the chapter.
On hormones-

Shilajit, a well-known Ayurvedic medicine, has postsynaptic response on preoptic hypo- thalamic neurons, and act via the Stry-sensitive glycine receptors. These results suggest that Shilajit can be a potent modulator of hypophysiotropic hormones acting directly on preoptic hypothalamic area. This study is a basic study aimed to elucidate the receptor types activated by Shilajit at the hypothalamic level. How- ever, the effects of Shilajit on membrane receptors of the preoptic hypothalamic neurons in clinical patho- genic conditions are still unknown. Further studies will be needed to isolate and identify the compounds associated with these Shilajit-mediated actions as well as the action of those compounds in pathogenic con- ditions.

http://www.cps.org.tw/issues/file/ce326123f0ba0d4db0fed7533affa3db.pdf
What are hypophysiotropic hormones?

Hypophysiotropic hormones are hormones released by the hypothalamus, which act on the anterior pituitary either to stimulate or to inhibit the secretion of this gland. These hormones are released by neurons found in the hypothalamus. The process by which a neuron releases a hormone is termed neurosecretion.

http://physiologyplus.com/write-an-essay-on-the-hypophysiotropic-hormones-and-their-regulation-of-secretion/
On iron and ferritin

The overload iron can cause undesirable side effect or toxicity. The excess iron is distributed throughout the body and slowly accumulates in several organs, including heart, liver, spleen, and skin. Ferritin is a unique iron storage protein containing 24 storage proteins. When excess dietary iron is absorbed, the body produces more ferritin. Ferritin is greatly abundant in the heart and liver, therefore there is a large amount in these organs, and iron rushes to these organs for storage[17],[18]. Iron storage is the most common cause of death among patients with hemochromatosis, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and heart disease[19].

The shilajit contains iron and other minerals, and is widely used for various disorders in long term therapy like anaemia and diabetes. So it may cause toxicity, but the present study data suggest that long term use of shilajit did not show any toxicity and the iron content of shilajit almost has the same level in all the dose level and histopathological studies show the normal histology of all the organs except the intestine and liver, which did not have significant change in the histological architecture. Hence, it can be considered being normal. Again the organ weight shows no significant in all organs when compared to control and there was no mortality observed in all treated groups up to the end of study, which will further support that the shilajit was safe for long term use

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3609271/

And a word from Mike Adams on shilajit supplements he's tested
https://www.naturalnews.com/055381_Shilajit_heavy_metals_lab_test_results.html
I don't feel any comfort in what he has to say and thinking I should get the goods coming from Russia tested, but then each batch could be different.

Apart from feeling fatigue, I have to say that the other results so far are promising. In July I injured my big toe playing beach soccer, it's been sore since, this morning I noticed it was no longer sore. The other thing I must add (very naughty) I've been eating things I shouldn't and usually don't eat, but I have not had a single gut reaction to any of them (seeds, chickpeas, milk chocolate, spices) this was the very first strong noticeable effect after my first dose of mumie... instant disappearance of gut pain, and it hasn't come back even though I've lost the plot with my diet a bit.. just for that I give mumie 5 stars.

 

[Laura]

I bought some a few years ago and tried it for a little while but didn't notice anything particular so gave it up.

 

[Fluffy]

I bought some a few years ago and tried it for a little while but didn't notice anything particular so gave it up.

How long did you try it for? Some people have said it took several months to have any effect, others say it did nothing at all and then like me, saw some instant results like deep sleep with vivid dreams, increased capicity for exercise, relief from toe injury pain, instant gut calming, gland pain and swelling reduction (from influenza A that I had for nearly two months) and what seems to be some kind of detox effects- which I just took some vitC and chlorella for and now feel less fatigue even though it's almost bed time.
I wanted to try it for its supposed (and cited) immunological benefits coz I have had 2 colds and the flu in the past 6 months.

I'm also a bit gung-ho with most things and didn't ease in, just went straight to into a big dose rather than work my way up.

Russians have done extensive studies on their Mumijo but the information remains classified. I'd love to have a geeze on those papers and what they don't want anyone to know!!!

 

[Laura]

I've never heard of a flu that lasted two months.

 

[Fluffy]

I've never heard of a flu that lasted two months.

Now you have, was wicked. Each of my 3 children got it one at a time a few weeks apart and I flared up again with each case.
The influenza A that hit Australia killed lots of people, doctors said it could take 3 months or more for the body to get rid of the virus. (Thank you highly vaccinated population)
A few nights there that I was so unwell I thought I might need hospital treatment or die before I got there, narrowing of airways and inability to get enough oxygen. The cold sweats and chills were so bad that they hurt like nothing I've ever felt, even just an exposed finger would send me into a spiral of frozen muscle spasms... it sucked!!

 

[Fluffy]

The following information correlates with what I noticed in my gut almost instantaneously after my first dose of shilajit. I had stomach and intestinal pain that was relieved at great speed.
Last night after taking ascorbic acid for the first time in months (stopped because it was giving me colitis) I had a flare up, I'm still somewhat uncomfortable with swelling but there is little pain and past feelings of my intestines wanting to fall out of my body from ascorbic acid aren't currently present. I need to get some non acidic vitamin C

We here report at somewhat greater length on clinical research on treatment of patients with stomach and intestinal ulcers, carried out in two clinics: the Department of Internal Diseases of the Medical Institute of Kyrgystan, and the Leningrad sanitation-hygiene and teaching faculty of the Medical Institute of Tadjikistan.

A total of seventy-four patients with stomach and intestinal ulcers was studied. The largest group of patients (44%) had suffered from the disease for 2-5 years and a further large group (21%) for ten years. The great majority of the patients (72) either recovered from their illnesses or reduced the severity of the condition by localising the ulcer, over varying intervals of time. Thirty-seven of the patients suffered from indigestion, twenty-six had a tendency toward nausea and vomiting, twenty-four suffered from belching, ninety had swelling of the stomach, and twenty-eight had a tendency toward constipation. The Gregorson reflex was positive in twenty-six of the patients. Upon X-ray examination, sixty-five patients displayed a "niche" in the bulb of the intestine and in three of these the "niches" had begun entering the wall of the stomach. In all patients signs of changes in the folds and relief of the mucous membranes, disturbance in motor functions and various degrees of deformation of the bulb of the intestine were detected upon X-ray examination.

Treatment using "Mumio" was done with no change in the conditions on the background treatment or nutrition. The preparation was prescribed internally at 100 milligrams twice a day (morning and evening) over the course of twenty-four to twenty-six days, thirty minutes before eating. Before use, the preparation was dissolved in a small amount of tea or boiled water.

During the 15-20 minutes after taking "Mumio", a reduction of the feeling of pain occurred in almost all patients. All dyspepsia occurrences (nausea, vomiting, heartburn, belching, etc.) disappeared at seven to day days of treatment. In patients with constipation, the stool was regular at the sixth to fifteenth day of treatment.

During the process of treatment with "Mumio" the "niches" disappeared in sixty five patients (95%), and in a further three patients they showed a dramatic decrease in size. The Gregerson reaction became negative in all twenty-six patients in whom it had been positive during the treatment. Analysis of the gastric fluids showed normal activity of the secretion functions of the stomach: in hyperacidity and hypoacidity the process of acidification of the gastric fluids gradually normalised, in a few cases increasing the level of pepsinogins. Gastrobiopsy examination in thirty-two patients showed various degrees of dystrophy amelioration to superficial, with expression of subepithelial swellings.
At the eighth to twentieth day of treatment using "Mumio", inflammation processes disappeared and the trophic mucus of the stomach lining normalised.

http://www.naturalelixir.com/mumio_scn.html

 

[Ant22]

Sorry Ant and everyone, this is going to be quick with a few links as I'm not feeling so crash hot, just so lethargic, spent an hour earlier posting links and quotes from links and then my wifi crashed and I lost it all.

Today, everyone in my family who is trying mumie are very tired. I worked out this morning for 2 hours, afterwards I was totally depleted even though through the workout felt strong and energetic. I'm looking at detox reactions, some say fatigue is a common early side effect. It could also be my diet sux a bit right now. (...)

Hi Fluffy, your description reminds me of a couple of mishaps I've had with different supplements. Initially I would benefit from increased energy and I'd feel really well. That was then followed by a crash (fatigue, sluggishness, brain fog, muscle weakness - or all of them). Methylene blue and taurine are two examples. I'm not sure if it's just a detox reaction of a sign that mumio doesn't agree with you for whatever reason. I may be wrong but to me a new supplement has to integrate itself into the environment it's put into, i.e. our bodies. And depending on what our internal health landscape looks like, different people may get different responses. Also, maybe it initially worked but then stopped as a result of what it had to work against in your body?

I'm not an expert of course and I do hope the fatigue will go away quickly!

In response to Ant, I'm not the healthiest individual by a long shot, hence why I wanted to try mumie and am always looking for health solutions. I am lately reacting to smoking with rapid heart rate and malaise, I'll be quitting soon after the planned holiday next week. I also think my liver is not working so well and during my last 5 day fast I had quite severe uterine pain for the first 3 days, although regular in menstuation I feel also that my hormones aren't balanced, they appear to be in bloodwork results but I don't agree with what the doctors consider 'normal' to be. Actually I don't trust them at all about anything.

As someone who went through a bit of a health nightmare myself I can testify that diet is a huge chunk of the puzzle. Even the best supplements will achieve little when the body is full of stuff that shouldn't be there. If your recent fatigue is in fact a result of a detox, then you're probably detoxing the results of a bad diet.

My own health improved LOADS when I changed my diet so maybe working on improving your dietary lifestyle would enable you to experience similar benefits you had on mumio? Just a thought :)

So here are a few links that I have found helpful regarding scientific studies on shilajit.

(...)

Apart from feeling fatigue, I have to say that the other results so far are promising. In July I injured my big toe playing beach soccer, it's been sore since, this morning I noticed it was no longer sore. The other thing I must add (very naughty) I've been eating things I shouldn't and usually don't eat, but I have not had a single gut reaction to any of them (seeds, chickpeas, milk chocolate, spices) this was the very first strong noticeable effect after my first dose of mumie... instant disappearance of gut pain, and it hasn't come back even though I've lost the plot with my diet a bit.. just for that I give mumie 5 stars.

Thank you very much for doing all the research, great job Fluffy! I guess the iron content is something that may cause a bad reaction in me, due to hemochromatosis I have to avoid any iron loaded supplements since I eat loads of meat, including organ meats already. What a bummer!!!

As for your tummy aches, I just had a thought: in his book "When the body says no" Gabor Mate describes Irritable Bowel Syndrome and its relationship with stress. Maybe that's something worth looking into? I used to get stomach cramps/pain that felt exactly the same as what his patients described. These would sometimes spread to my entire abdomen and I had to go to hospital on multiple occasions. Yet no testes or scans ever showed anything abnormal. These cramps actually stopped completely when I changed my profession to a much less stressful one as a result of moving to a different country (where work culture is much better too). If your issue is similar then mumio may in fact be addressing the symptoms rather than causes.

Well, something to consider I guess :)

I've never heard of a flu that lasted two months.

Now you have, was wicked. Each of my 3 children got it one at a time a few weeks apart and I flared up again with each case.
The influenza A that hit Australia killed lots of people, doctors said it could take 3 months or more for the body to get rid of the virus. (Thank you highly vaccinated population)
A few nights there that I was so unwell I thought I might need hospital treatment or die before I got there, narrowing of airways and inability to get enough oxygen. The cold sweats and chills were so bad that they hurt like nothing I've ever felt, even just an exposed finger would send me into a spiral of frozen muscle spasms... it sucked!!

This may be yet another reason to be more vigilant about your diet. If it lasted two months it might have been a different virus, but whatever that was, your body clearly had a hard time fighting it off which may be why it lasted so long. A poor diet means that your body is busy doing constant damage control and when a virus sneaks in the body has little strength to fight it off.

Just imagine being told to do a double intensity gym workout right after you've run a marathon. ;)

 

[liam1310]

Anyone still using this?
I picked some up today at a market never heard of it before, just doing some reading up on it.

 

[nicklebleu]

Anyone still using this?
I picked some up today at a market never heard of it before, just doing some reading up on it.

I used it for a while, but it didn’t seem to have any effects, so I stopped again. It’s also pretty foul tasting, which wasn’t a problem as such. Not sure if that is of any help.

 

[Fluffy]

Anyone still using this?
I picked some up today at a market never heard of it before, just doing some reading up on it.

Yep, I'm still using it. It's become part of my daily routine.
I've become quite accustomed to the taste and quite enjoy it now.

What I've noticed is an overall support of my digestion. Liver and kidney function are better, elimination pathways more active. I sweat a LOT when I work out since taking it, warm up faster,
can workout harder for longer and recover quicker. I have less stiffness, I'm more flexible and I rarely have any arthritic flare ups in my fingers anymore.

I'm more tolerant of things that usually upset my gut, I couldn't take chlorella because it upset my intestines terribly but I've been taking it again without any problem, same with ascorbic acid. (And also things like dairy which isn't an everyday food for me but if I do have a little here and there it's without consequence)

I want to attribute my stable mood and increased motivation to mumijo also but this is more likely that I'm working out harder and more frequently, sleeping better and have less upsets in my life in general.

I love it. I've got 2 years supply in my cubpoard.