How NOT to Take Shilajit

December 6, 2025

Christine Dubyk

I’m amazed by the number of comments in my other Shilajit post that say they just lick it off a spoon or roll it into a ball and swallow it. This is not the best plan. In short: Raw glob → 20–40 % absorption at best. Pre-dissolved in liquid → 80–90% absorption.

Here’s the straight reason why the old-school Ayurvedic texts (and every serious shilajit user) always dissolve it first instead of plopping a raw glob under the tongue or straight in the mouth:

Raw resin is insanely sticky and hydrophobic
It’s basically tree sap + rock dust + fulvic acid. If you put a pea-size chunk straight under your tongue it forms a tar ball that barely dissolves—even saliva can’t break it down fast. You end up swallowing half of it undissolved → gut irritation, wasted actives.
Fulvic/humic acids are pH-sensitive
Pure resin is acidic (pH ~3). Undissolved, it can burn the mouth lining or esophagus in sensitive people (reports of “chemical burn” taste and raw throat). Dissolved in warm water/milk first → neutralizes and spreads the load.
Bioavailability skyrockets when pre-dissolved
Warm liquid + 10–15 minutes soaking breaks the resin into tiny micelles so the fulvic acid can actually chelate and carry the minerals across the gut wall. Raw glob → 20–40 % absorption at best. Pre-dissolved → 80–90 %.
Traditional reason
Ayurveda calls raw shilajit “tamasic” (heavy, dulling) when taken crude. Dissolved = “sattvic” (light, bioavailable). They knew 2,000 years ago what modern lab tests confirm.

So:

Never raw under tongue or straight swallow (waste + irritation).
Always pre-dissolve 100–300 mg in warm water/milk/kefir for 10–15 min → drink or add to your keto chocolate.