Potent fuel for sherpas and Himalayan monks makes its way to you

When you look at a picture of towering Himalayan mountaintops, the last thing you’d think about is the bottom of the ocean. And yet 200 million years ago, what we now know as India was a large island off the coast of Australia, separated from Eurasia by the Tethys Sea. The island began drifting northeast and after 150 million years, eventually collided with Asia. As the Tethys Sea got squeezed by the shifting tectonic plates, its bed was forced upwards, creating lush forest and jungles and then, as the land continued to rise, the Himalayas.

Fast forward another 50 million years and folklore has it that Himalayan villagers in India and Nepal started to notice the white monkeys that roamed around their communities eating a mysterious black tar-like substance that stuck to their paws. This particular species was noted for their strength and longevity, and soon the curiosity of several townspeople got the better of them and they tried the dark goo that appeared to flow out of the rocks. Afterwards, they felt more energetic, recovered faster from illness and injury, and achieved a state of mental clarity. Today, the Sherpas – best known for hauling hundreds of pounds of gear up the slopes of Everest – swear by the substance they’ve come to call “shilajit,” meaning “rock tar.” It’s also used by monks whose monasteries are perched precariously on the mineral-rich slopes from which the life-giving substance flows. In Ayurvedic medicine, shilajit is prized as a rasayana, or builder of the immune system. In ancient traditional medicine texts like the Materia Medica, it’s also described as a yogavahi that amplifies the positive effects of other botanicals.

As with turmeric, cordyceps sinensis, ashwagandha, and the other plants used to enhance vitality in Himalayan communities, those who eat shilajit don’t need the analysis of modern science to validate its benefits – they utilize it because it works. Yet now that such assessments exist, we can back up anecdotal reports about the efficacy of the so-called “destroyer of weakness” with hard evidence. Looking at shilajit under the microscope showed scientists that it contains 85 potent phytonutrients (ie important minerals that our body can’t produce itself), including a broad spectrum of fulvic and humic acids. These are all in ionic form, which means they’re readily absorbed by your body.

Fulvic and humic acids are created from decomposing plants over thousands of years. The humus, which is created by organic matter compressed by rocks pushing together, is one of the most potent natural fertilizers for other plants, and is eventually formed into shilajit, which flows from Himalayan stones as it’s exposed by winter winds and summer sun. Recent studies have confirmed what local villagers in the highlands have known for eons – that shilajit helps the human body flourish physically and neurologically. A team headed by leading Alzheimer’s researcher Alberto Cornejo found that fulvic acid can help break down the tau proteins that are a key contributor to cognitive degeneration diseases. It also increases the permeability of cell walls, enabling the body to better absorb other nutrients. Researchers from Jadavpur University in India discovered that the trace minerals in shilajit boost the levels of coenzyme Q10, a key micronutrient for cellular health, by up to 29 percent.

In addition to humic and fulvic acids, laboratory analysis shows that shilajit also contains a wide range of minerals, including zinc, magnesium, and manganese, all of which are involved in hundreds of processes in the body – such as regulating organ function, managing hydration levels, and metabolizing energy. Perhaps this is why one animal study found that mice that didn’t take shilajit fatigued twice as quickly as those that did. While humans aren’t rodents and we need to be careful in extrapolating too much from such research, this infers that shilajit improves energy production at the mitochondrial level. Another paper published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology stated that, “Humic acids have a profound effect on healthy colonic microbiome,” suggesting that shilajit consumption can also improve gut health.

To ensure you can tap into the physical and cognitive benefits of the purest shilajit on earth, we source it from the unadulterated rock tar collected by villagers at and above 16,000 feet. As with every other HANAH product, Shilajit+ is fully traceable along a totally transparent supply chain. And because we pay top dollar for our ingredients, you’re not only doing yourself good by adding Shilajit+ to your diet, but also empowering local villagers to make a living. In turn, this enables them to give their children the kind of education and opportunities they never had.

The “plus” part of our unique shilajit formula refers to the two ingredients we add to every capsule.

• 125 mg of ashwagandha: we obtain this from small producers in India who never use pesticides and wild harvest their crops in a sustainable manner. This potent adaptogen not only increases the bioavailability of shilajit’s phytonutrients, but also helps buffer stress, brings hormones back into balance, and increases vitality.
• Mucuna pruriens: a bean extract that assists in nervous system function, boosts cognition, and moderates mood.

You may not be a monkey, a monk, or a Sherpa. But nonetheless, you can begin reaping the health riches that Himalayan “black gold” provides by adding HANAH Shilajit+ to your daily routine.