Shilajit – Himalayan Mineral Masterpiece
Date Posted:25 February 2014
We’re juggling it all and feeling the effects. As a professional, a parent and homemaker, it’s easy to plow through days feeling overwhelmed with social, business and family concerns. Taking care of oneself is too often the first thing cut from a much-too-busy schedule. That’s part of the reason that recent articles about taking the tar-like, ancient herbal supplement Shilajit (mineral pitch) are peaking interest. Some websites claim that it has calming, “rejuvenating” and aphrodisiac properties. Scientific analysis shows that it has 85 minerals and contains fulvic acid, a popular antioxidant.
Shilajit, a mineral pitch, has been around for a long time, though not in the West. It’s harvested from the Himalayas where it was recommended in thousand-year-old ayurvedic texts for its vitality-promoting benefits.
Some companies are selling it by itself, and it’s a bitter pill — literally. Dissolving it in milk helps, but ancient texts suggest that the benefits are supported when Shijalit is added to herbal mixtures and taken at specific times. Taking the right kind of mineral pitch is important as well. Maharishi Ayurvedic expert, Dr. Mark Toomey, says “that the first text of ayurveda, the Charaka Samhita, describes four types of Shilajit that exude from gold, silver, copper and iron. The most efficacious is considered to be the black variety from iron called Lauha Shilajit.”
It’s not always easy to verify which variety is being sold. Some companies are also promoting a cheaper raw, tar-like substance with no medical properties called Ozokerite, which is often used in cosmetics and melts much more slowly than true Shilajit.
Whether it’s been correctly purified is another concern, but all the guesswork is gone when taking the herbal Rasayanas, Vital Lady or Vital Man, from Maharishi Ayurveda. It’s also easy to swallow as a simple tablet with milk or on an empty stomach. That’s simple enough to fit into a busy schedule for more energy and a host of other benefits. Who could’ve guessed that mineral pitch could make such a difference?
Article by Elaine Masters
Reprinted with permission from MAPI, USA.