AYURVEDIC MEDICINE
Shilajit is Unproven Yet Touted as a Panacea for Many Ills
The substance, said to be used for thousands of years across the mountain regions of Central Asia and Northern India, is an ancient Ayurvedic medicine.
By Susan Bell
It has a smoky, bitter taste, a deeply unpleasant odor and bears a close resemblance to black gobs of tar. Pricey tar, mind you: 10 grams (a month's supply) will set you back $80.
The substance, called shilajit, is an ancient ayurvedic medicine. On websites, you'll read that it has anti-anxiety, "rejuvenating" and aphrodisiac properties and is a panacea for many ills, from diabetes to bronchitis — and, further, that it was praised by Aristotle, prized by Genghis Khan and was the closely guarded secret weapon of Soviet cosmonauts and Olympic athletes. Whew. Now it's hit Hollywood, and "Big Love" actor Branka Katic, for one, is a fan. "It brightens my view of the world. My head feels calmer and I have more energy," she says.
What exactly is this stuff? Shilajit consists of ancient plant matter transformed over millions of years into a black substance that oozes from the rocks of the Himalayas. Johann Helf, founder of Los Angeles-based importer Lotus Blooming Herbs, says he navigated a narrow Himalayan pass in a snowstorm, with a Buddhist monk — praying all the while — riding pillion on his motorcycle, to obtain a source of shilajit from a village in Ladakh, India. The curious and the hopeful are now sampling the stuff at the Hollywood Farmers Market.
Helf is quick to distance his water-purified product from processed shilajit capsules manufactured by Dabur India Ltd. that were banned in Canada in 2005 after authorities there found heavy metal contamination. His own supply, he says, has been tested for heavy metals in aU.S. Food and Drug Administration-registered lab.
For the full article:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-shilajit-20120407,0,5358725.story
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