Shilajit – A Brief History

To locate the origins of Moomiyo or Shilajit, one would have to go back at least 2500 years to the time of the ancient Greek scientist and philosopher Aristotle. He proposed and accurately described the first procedures for the use of Moomiyo and its preparation in grape juice, honey and milk. Glorious emperors of the past like Alexander the Great, Tamerlane, and Chinghiz Khan added Moomiyo to the ration of their Generals, personal guards and special units. The compound was always a mystery – one that yielded unprecedented results praised and honored by the Emperors, Sultans and Kings at all times. Only the richest of the nobles could afford it.

Little was known about this high mountain herb/mineral compound in the West until the early 1990’s when Russian scientists brought it to the western world after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russian Black Anabolic, or mumie (pronounced Moomiyo) is a potent adaptagenic herbal complex. The effects of Shilajit include activation of the growth processes on the cell-molecular level in all organs and body systems (Blood, liver, myocardium, skeletal muscles, lymphatic system, central and peripheral nervous systems, skin and hair, and gastrointestinal tract).

To date, several hundreds of research investigations have been conducted on Moomiyo, showing it has a strong ability to stimulate the body’s immune system. Moomiyo helps build white blood cells, called macrophages. The macrophages job is to destroy and digest foreign material in the body. This means that when strengthened with Moomiyo, white blood cells can ingest more bacteria, microbes and other alien cells that the body generally doesn’t know how to deal with. Scientists also discovered that Moomiyo increases the production of Interleukin (IL-1), a protein that is released by the macrophages and has important immune system enhancing properties. Shilajit is well known for renewing vitality. It has the ability to increase the core energy responsible for sexual and spiritual power, the same force that is withered by stress and anxiety.

The people of the Tajikistan area of Russia routinely use Moomiyo in their foods. Their life spans are above the world average by 10-15 years. Russian scientists can only attribute this to their daily consumption of Moomiyo. In the last three decades Moomiyo also found its niche in the National Bureau of Cosmonauts for its impeccable reputation as an agent that facilitates a strong immune system, sound health and fast recovery to the astronauts during and after long space journeys.

In sport, Moomiyo is prized for its significant tonic and growth-promoting effects on both physical and mental processes. Moomiyo plays one of the leading roles in the restoration programs of the national and Olympic-level athletes. It has been used by the Russian military and sports establishment for nearly four decades, supposedly for increasing strength and muscle mass as well as for its recuperative powers. In studies conducted at various universities in Russia, Moomiyo was found to improve workload (weight x repetition) by as much as 15-27% and improve recovery time. A budget of almost 6.5 million dollars was allocated by the Soviet government to the USSR National Sport Committee for research and application of Moomiyo in sports during the preparation of athletes for the 1988 Olympic Games in Moscow. What’s the best way to use Moomiyo to yield maximum results in sports? The result will be a fast and easy recovery, a more efficient adaptation to training, and of course muscle gain, making it popular among athletes world-wide. It can be effective at preventing age-related hormone-dependent disorders, and correspondingly should be considered as a nutrient for noncompetitive athletes over the age of thirty who still participate in fitness programs. High content of bio-active instances appears to be responsible for Moomiyo’s outstanding anti-inflammatory and healing effects. It is very beneficial at reducing joint soreness of the knees, shoulders and elbows of weight lifters.

Brief analysis of the region where Moomiyo is coming from is astonishing. Thousands of diverse plant species and herbs are found in isolated areas of Central Asia. The region is home to over 6500 different plants, over half of which are not found anywhere else on Earth. It is this great variety of highly bio active material, combined with the region’s climatic conditions (temperature, light and moisture), that contributes to the development of Moomiyo. The general character of this region facilitated the formation of specific plant forms enriched in oils, alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, chlorophyll, carotenes, flavonoids, etc., each serving as a valuable raw material for many modern pharmaceutical and food industries. This diversity of plant materials causes a unique variety of wild animals in the region, which differ from animals of other parts of the world by a richer content of micro-elements and biologically active compounds in their organs and muscles.

Coming back to its origination high in the mountains, Moomiyo has been referred to as “mountain tear”, “mountain blood”, and “balsam of rock”. It is the digest of many floras at the crest of the mountains under very special conditions that produces the Moomiyo extract. It is very rare, and can be accumulated only twice a year. To collect just a small portion of pure Moomiyo one would have to contribute many months of hard work to the process. But, of course, the result will justify this investment.

Shilajit Moomiyo is obtained from rocks in the Altai region. It is a form of mineral that drips from the cracks of the rocks during hot weather. Basically, it is the decomposition of plant matter in the rocks that has been compressed , for tens of thousands of years in the past. 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 mountains, a thick rich paste seen oozing out from the rocks in the towering cliffs is Shilajit. Humus is formed when soil microorganisms decompose animal and plant material into elements usable by plants. Plants are the source of all our food and humus is the source of plant food. Unlike other soil humus, Shilajit humus consists of 60 – 80% organic mass. Shilajit will “flow” out from between the cracks in the layers of rock during the summer when the temperature of the mountains gets warm enough and the Shilajit becomes less viscous. The native people then climb the mountains, repel down cliffs to collect this powerful substance, known as Shilajit.

Click here for Tattva’s Herbs Shilajit.