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Shilajit Side Effects: Heavy Metals, Who Should Not Take It
In this article
- What are the side effects of shilajit?
- Does shilajit contain heavy metals?
- How do you read a certificate of analysis?
- Is shilajit safe to take every day?
- Who should not take shilajit?
- Does shilajit affect the liver, kidneys, heart or blood pressure?
- What should you avoid while taking shilajit?
- What we don't know
- Frequently asked questions
In the human trials, purified shilajit at 200 mg to 1 g a day for 28 days to 48 weeks produced no more side effects than placebo in the one trial that counted them, and the sperm study found liver and kidney blood tests unchanged.1, 3, 4 The documented risk arrives with untested material: 20.7% of 193 Ayurvedic products bought online contained detectable lead, mercury or arsenic; raw Indian and Pakistani shilajit exceeded permissible limits for several metals; and a 2025 study found thallium in finished supplements at up to 0.5 micrograms per gram, higher in some than in the raw resin.5, 6, 7 The other cautions are precautions rather than recorded harms: iron overload, gout, blood pressure and blood-sugar medicines, pregnancy and breastfeeding, under-18s. What shilajit is and what the trials found is on what is shilajit; the supplements it is sold alongside are in the Wellgard mushroom guide.
Sources checked on 29 October 2026.
What are the side effects of shilajit?
Fewer than the forums suggest, if the material is purified and tested. The 160-patient fracture trial on 1 g a day for 28 days recorded adverse effects no different from placebo (p = 0.839).3 The 60-woman bone trial ran 48 weeks at 250 or 500 mg a day, the longest exposure on record.4 The sperm study at 200 mg a day found liver and kidney blood tests unchanged; the muscle study at 500 mg a day found glucose, lipids and muscle-damage markers unchanged.1, 2 No trial lists stomach upset, headache, dizziness or low blood pressure as an outcome; those appear on seller websites and in user posts, so they are neither confirmed nor ruled out.
Does shilajit contain heavy metals?
Raw shilajit can, and so can untested finished products:
- A 2008 survey in JAMA analysed 193 Ayurvedic products bought online: 20.7% contained detectable lead, mercury or arsenic, every one of those exceeded at least one acceptable daily intake standard, and 75% of them claimed good manufacturing practice.5
- A 2022 analysis of Indian and Pakistani shilajit found lead, arsenic and mercury, with aluminium, strontium, nickel and chromium, above the permissible limits the authors applied.6
- A 2025 study measured thallium, which the usual four-metal panel misses, at up to 0.226 micrograms per gram in raw shilajit and up to 0.5 in commercial supplements, up to 0.095 micrograms per pill; some supplements carried more than the crude material.7
- A 2024 review found most reported levels below the limits it quotes for herbal medicines (lead and arsenic 10 parts per million, mercury 1, cadmium 0.2 to 0.3), a minority above, and concluded that consuming shilajit without knowing its metal levels is not safe.9
The trials that describe their material used purified, processed or standardised extract; purification separates that material from the raw resin in the contamination studies, so the certificate matters more than the origin story.1, 2, 4, 10
How do you read a certificate of analysis?
A certificate of analysis (CoA) is the laboratory report for one production batch, published or sent on request. Five checks. The batch number matches your pack. The heavy-metal panel lists lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury with a measured or "less than" figure against a stated limit, in micrograms per gram (parts per million) or per daily serving; "not detected" should come with the detection limit. Whether thallium is on the panel; it rarely is.7 The extract is identified, with its fulvic acid percentage. The laboratory is named and accredited, the date recent. "Free from heavy metals" with no figures is a statement, not a test result. For a mushroom extract the same document carries the beta-glucan figure; which lion's mane supplement is strongest explains that reading.
Is shilajit safe to take every day?
Every trial gave it daily: twice a day for 90 days in the testosterone and sperm studies (after meals in the sperm study), 48 weeks in the bone trial, 1 g a day for 28 days after fracture surgery.1, 3, 4, 10 Nothing there argues against daily use of a tested product at trial doses for the lengths tested. 0.095 micrograms of thallium in a pill is small once and a different proposition daily for years.7 A sensible pattern: a reason to take it, a dose at or below the trial doses, a tested batch, a review after 12 weeks.
Who should not take shilajit?
| Who | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnant or breastfeeding | No trial included them; some gummies combine shilajit with ashwagandha, itself not advised in pregnancy | No data; avoid |
| Under 18 | Trials were in adults aged 18 to 65 | No data; avoid |
| Haemochromatosis or raised iron stores | Shilajit contains iron in variable, usually undeclared amounts | Precaution; no case report found |
| Gout or high uric acid | Often said to raise uric acid; no trial measured it | Precaution; untested |
| Blood pressure medicines | No trial measured blood pressure | Untested; tell your pharmacist |
| Diabetes medicines | Glucose unchanged at 500 mg a day in one trial; nobody on glucose-lowering medicines studied | Limited; tell your pharmacist |
| Surgery within two weeks | Standard advice for any supplement without interaction data | Precaution |
Iron overload: shilajit's iron content is real but rarely quantified on the label, and people treated for haemochromatosis are usually told to avoid iron supplements; the caution reads the mineral content, not a recorded harm.11 Gout is too much uric acid in the blood; the warning on consumer sites has no trial behind it, so anyone with gout asks first.12 Erectile dysfunction, low mood and tiredness are reasons to see a GP first; the men's questions are on what shilajit does for men.
Does shilajit affect the liver, kidneys, heart or blood pressure?
Liver: the sperm study found liver tests unchanged, and no published case of liver injury from shilajit was found; the study behind the "shilajit protects the liver" answer online was in rats fed a high-fat diet.1, 13 Kidneys: unchanged in the same study, no kidney case found, and nobody with existing liver or kidney disease has been studied, so ask first.1 Heart and blood pressure: never measured in any shilajit trial, so "can a person with high blood pressure take shilajit?" has no evidence-based yes; ask the pharmacist who knows your medicines. The interaction table on the side effects of mushroom supplements marks every shilajit cell unstudied for this reason. Stop and seek advice for dark urine, pale stools or yellowing skin or eyes.
What should you avoid while taking shilajit?
No food, drink or medicine interaction has been documented; none has been studied. The seller-website lists (no alcohol, no chickpeas, no radish) are tradition, not research. The evidence-based list is short: untested resin and products with no batch certificate; stacking several mineral-rich supplements if you have iron or gout concerns; taking it alongside a prescribed medicine without telling your pharmacist or GP; pregnancy, breastfeeding and under 18. Gummies that pair shilajit with ashwagandha carry ashwagandha's cautions too; ashwagandha vs lion's mane sets them out. Never stop a prescribed medicine on the strength of a supplement.
What we don't know
What happens after 48 weeks, the longest trial, or beyond the few hundred people trials have included.4 Whether shilajit moves blood pressure, uric acid or liver enzymes in anyone who already has a problem: no trial measured blood pressure or uric acid, and none enrolled people with liver, kidney, iron or gout conditions.1, 3 How much thallium, lead or iron a UK product carries: no survey of supplements sold here has been published, so the batch certificate is the only figure.7
Frequently asked questions
Is shilajit safe for a 20-year-old, and which age is best?
The strength and collagen trials were in men averaging 21, the testosterone trial in men aged 45 to 55; no trial has compared ages or included anyone under 18.8, 10 The reason to take it matters more than the age.
Are shilajit gummies safe?
A gummy is only as safe as its batch: the label states the milligrams of extract and the certificate tells you about the metals. The 2025 thallium data show finished products can carry more than raw resin, so check the certificate.7
Can women and girls take shilajit?
Adult women outside pregnancy and breastfeeding, yes: the longest trial was 48 weeks in 60 postmenopausal women and its abstract raises no safety concern; under 18, no data.4
Is shilajit bad before bed?
No trial measured sleep or reported wakefulness; the twice-daily trial doses included an evening dose, after a meal in the sperm study.1, 10
What should I do if I react to it?
Stop, keep the pack and batch number, and speak to a pharmacist, your GP or NHS 111. Report it to your local authority's trading standards or environmental health team, which works with the Food Standards Agency; the batch number lets a contaminated lot be traced.14
Sources
- Biswas TK, et al. Processed shilajit in oligospermia. Open-label study, 35 men enrolled, 28 completed, 90 days, no placebo; funding not stated. Andrologia, 2010. PubMed 20078516.
- Das A, et al. Skeletal muscle gene expression after oral shilajit. Open-label study, overweight adults, 12 weeks; supplier-linked. Journal of Medicinal Food, 2016. PubMed 27414521.
- Sadeghi SMH, et al. Momiai in tibia fracture repair. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 160 patients, 28 days; funding not stated. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2020. PubMed 32310691.
- Pingali U, Nutalapati C. Shilajit extract and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with osteopenia. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 60 women, 48 weeks; funding not stated. Phytomedicine, 2022. PubMed 35933897.
- Saper RB, et al. Lead, mercury and arsenic in Ayurvedic medicines sold via the internet. Survey of 193 products; US NIH funded. JAMA, 2008. PubMed 18728265.
- Aldakheel RK, et al. Nutritional and poisonous metals in shilajit. Laboratory analysis of Indian and Pakistani samples. Biological Trace Element Research, 2022. PubMed 34800280.
- Kamgar E, et al. Thallium in shilajit and its supplements. Laboratory analysis of raw shilajit and commercial supplements. BMC Chemistry, 2025. PubMed 39827344.
- Keller JL, et al. Shilajit and fatigue-induced decreases in muscular strength. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, 63 men, 8 weeks; supplier-funded. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2019. PubMed 30728074.
- Hussain A, Saeed A. Heavy metals and humic substances in shilajit. Narrative review. Biological Trace Element Research, 2024. PubMed 38393486.
- Pandit S, et al. Purified shilajit and testosterone in healthy volunteers. Randomised placebo-controlled trial, men aged 45 to 55, number not in the abstract, 90 days; supplier-funded. Andrologia, 2016. PubMed 26395129.
- NHS. Haemochromatosis. Reviewed 29 March 2023. nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis.
- NHS. Gout. Reviewed 24 August 2023. nhs.uk/conditions/gout.
- Ghezelbash B, et al. Shilajit and high-fat-diet fatty liver in rats. Animal study, 40 rats. Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation, 2020. PubMed 32083445.
- Food Standards Agency. How to report a food safety or hygiene issue for members of the public. gov.uk.
Spotted something out of date? Email support@wellgard.co.uk with the page address and the sentence.
General information, not medical advice: shilajit is not taken in pregnancy, while breastfeeding or under 18; anyone on a regular medicine or with a liver, kidney, iron or gout condition asks a pharmacist or GP first.
