ASPHALTUM FROM HIMALAYA

Shilajeet

Botanical Name :- Asphaltum 

English Name :- Mineral Pitch

Shilajeet is an exudates that is pressed out from layers of rock in the mountains. It is composed of humus and organic plant material that has been compressed by layers of rock.

Source:                                   

Shilajeet is obtained from rocks in the Himalayan region. It is a form of mineral that drips from the cracks of the rocks during hot weather. It is decomposition of the plant matter in the rocks centuries before. The bio-transformed plant matter is extruded from the rocks by geothermal pressures. It is collected in raw form for further purification. Walking high in the Himalayan Mountains, a thick rich paste oozing out from the rocks in the towering cliffs is Shilajeet.

Shilajeet is the most important drug of Ayurvedic and folk- medicine systems. In the raw form it is a bituminous substance, which is a compact mass of vegetable organic matter composed of dark red gummy matrix. It is bitter in taste. 

In the Ayurvedic texts it is called as silajatu or shilajatu, but is commonly known as Shilajeet. Its Sanskrit meaning is "conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness."

Discovery of Shilajeet:

Shilajeet has been used for thousands of years and for as many different health problems. It is listed as a healing agent in ancient Sanskrit writings and is used today in Ayurvedic health practices. The discovery is said to be made by Himalayan villagers observing large white monkeys migrate to the mountains in the warm summer months. The monkeys were seen to be chewing a semi-soft substance that flowed from between layers of rock. The villagers attributed the monkey’s great strength, longevity and wisdom to the substance. They began to consume it themselves and reported a broad spectrum of improvements in health. It seemed to give them more energy, relieve digestive problems, Increase sex drive, improve memory and cognition, improve diabetes, reduce allergies, improve the quality and quantity of life and it seemed to cure all diseases.

Processing of Shilajeet

Approximately 40% of the raw material remain after extraction. Proper extraction is very important to guarantee a consistent high level of active ingredients, remove inactive substances, remove harmful free radicals and mycotoxin producing fungi and fungal toxins. Good quality Shilajeet is then standardized to guarantee consistent levels of the active ingredients.

Attributed Medicinal Properties / Healing Properties :

Enlarge Prostate :

Shilajeet has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda as an adjunct to a healthy prostate and urinary tract. It help maintain the balanced flow of testosterone & help maintain the urine’s flow.

Urinary problems:

Shilajeet is used in kidney function. It is effective in treating burning urine, incontinence of urine due to enlarged prostate or stone in the bladder or kidney.

Increase sex drive:

Shilajeet in India, is an aphrodisiac. It is well known that Shilajeet would return the libido of people to a level of teenagers. Shilajeet increases the core energy responsible for sexual and spiritual power.  The use of Shilajeet for renewing vitality.

Diabetes:  for more details click here...

High blood sugar is a growing (literally) health problem today. Millions of people around the world have some degree of high blood sugar and are progressing on to diabetes. Shilajeet has long been used for the prevention and treatment of diabetes in Ayurvedic medicine.

Antioxidant:

Antioxidants can safely neutralize a free radical without becoming a free radical them self. Shilajeet is a powerful antioxidant that has the added benefit of being able to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Anti-inflammatory:

Shilajeet is a very powerful anti-inflammatory agent. It has been shown to reduce acute chemically induced edema by 77%. The antioxidant properties also help to prevent inflammation.

Anemia:  for more details click here...

Iron is required to make red blood cells. Shilajeet is a good source of trace minerals and contains iron. The fulvic acids help carry the iron into the body making it bio-available.

Arthritis: for more details click here...

It literally means joint inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties help to decrease and relieve joint inflammation and pain. The effects on the neurotransmitters in the brain also seem to help relieve joint pain.

Cholesterol: 

Shilajeet was found to lower serum cholesterol, liver cholesterol, serum triglycerides and serum phospholipids in test subjects feed high cholesterol diet.

Shilajeet amplifies the benefits of other herbs by enhancing their bio-availability. It helps transport nutrients deep into the tissue and removes deep-seated toxins. Shilajeet improves memory and the ability to handle stress. Shilajeet reduces recovery time in muscle, bone and nerve injuries. Shilajeet stimulates the immune system and reduces chronic fatigue. It is adaptogen (Rasayana) that helps to combat immune disorders, urinary tract disorders, nervous disorders and sexual dissatisfaction. It promotes strong bones and heals damages muscle tissues, osteoarthritis and porous.

WHAT IS SALAJEET OR SHILAJIT? ASPHALTUM OR MINERAL PITCH - ELIXIR OF LIFE: HEALTH BENEFITS AND USES OF SALAJEET

SALAJEET, SHILAJIT, MINERAL PITCH, ASPHALTUM

Salajeet is the Urdu name for this mineral pitch and shilajit is the name in Hindi. It is the concentrated plant matter from prehistoric plants that were trapped in mountain ranges when tectonic plates collided to give birth to the mountains. (In the same way a s an ancient sea was trapped when the Himalayas formed, which is why we get Himalayan sea salt.) In the Himalayas this tar-like substance oozes from the rocks during spring and summer and local people gather it for medicinal use. It is fed to Pathan children in milk to make them strong and healthy, and the mountain people and hakims swear by it for all ills. It contains so many minerals that it is good for bone, muscle and tissue growth, and one man we know, who is a local book seller, says that his hand was beginning to get crooked and hook-like, so he took salajeet which he gathered himself as he didn’t trust anyone else to give him the unadulterated stuff, for 15 days and now is hand is back to normal.

Black Salajeet

  An Englishman found it in the 1870s in the Himalayas and noticed that the monkeys that fed on it were not bald at 10 years of age as were their relatives in the plains. He attributed this to the sticky black substance they ate and this is how the West first heard of salajeet, which has been used in medicine in the Indian subcontinent since before 6 BC when the first extant medical texts were written.

   Shilajit means “rock-like” and this attests to its virtues of making the body as firm as a rock and able to slow the ageing process and withstand the ravages of time on the body. In the Charak Samhita which is one of the earliest medical texts on internal medicine still in existence, and used by Ayurvedic practitioners even today, there is a reference to shilajit which says that without it there can be no cure for any illness, although it can be mixed with other natural substances to effect a cure.

  In Ayurvedic medicine it is used for numerous ailments including chronic bronchitis, digestive disorders, kidney and bladder problems, nervous diseases, anaemia, fractured bones and arthritis. It is also used in the treatment of diabetes, for insulin resistance, for liver problems such as jaundice and to rid the body of internal parasites. It is, according to the ancient medical treatises, the “conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness” and is known as the Indian Viagra as it is said to rejuvenate a man’s sexual prowess and stop erectile dysfunctions and cure impotency.

  Some traditional healers purify it before using it by putting it in cow’s milk and dissolving it, then straining it through muslin several times to get rid of impurities. It is then dried in the milk in the sun. When you use it you have to drink a lot of cow’s milk, they say.

  It is black-brown and varies in consistency, and probably in the minerals it contains, depending on where it comes from. Its effectiveness is also said to depend on its place of origin. It is said that it is not only found in the Himalayas but also in the Urals, Caucasus Mountains, Tien-Shan, Pamir, the Northern Pollack range in Australia and in the Hindu Kush.

  Paul Flechsig of the Department of Neurochemistry in the Institute of Brain Research at Leipzig University found in his study that mineral pitch enhanced cognition and memory in Alzheimer’s sufferers.

  It is said to have the abilities to reduce stress induced ulcers in vivo in the lab, and to help the body’s cells grow and become rejuvenated, thus slowing the aging process, which is why some call it the elixir of life. It may regulate blood pressure without significantly changing the heart rate, and speeds up the regeneration of muscles, nerves and bones. It has analgesic (pain-killing) and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as antiseptic ones (because it is thought of the benzoic acid it contains). It may also help the liver and cure anaemia.

  It contains the minerals aluminium, antimony, calcium, cobalt, copper, iron, lithium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorous, silica, sodium, zinc and the lippuric, benzoic, fulvic, chebulic and tannic acids, plus resins, gums, albuminoids and glycosides. Several of its constituents rarely occur in a natural form.

  However, before you rush out to buy capsules etc which are said to contain mineral pitch or asphaltum as it is known in Latin, remember the book seller who didn’t trust anyone else to sell him the real thing. Also, if you suffer from gout you should not take mineral pitch as it produces uric acid in the body.