How long does it take for Shilajit to work? Well, that depends: are we talking about anecdotal reports, or human clinical research?
When we answer these sorts of questions, we always do our best to be as thorough as possible. That’s why we’re basing our answer on a careful examination of both kinds of data.
There are currently over 700 reviews of CHOQ Shilajit (85% of which are 5 stars). We painstakingly went through every single one and identified a total of 73 that specifically mention how long it was taken. Then, we built a data set based on which effects were seen at which durations so we could draw some conclusions.
On top of that, we combed through all of the studies so that we could give you a science-based answer to how long Shilajit might take for things like hormone health, circulation, collagen, and more.
If you just want the answer and don’t care about all the details, then the section below will tell you everything you need to know. But if you love the technical stuff, there’s plenty of that after.
TL;DR: Just tell me how long Shilajit takes to work!
We get it. Not everyone wants to read through all the nitty gritty, so here’s a simple answer, based on many hours of looking at both kinds of data:
Out of the 10 clinical studies we found, only 2 were less than 2 months long. A 28-day study was done on bone health (1) and a 45-day study (2) showed benefits for healthy cholesterol, triglycerides, and antioxidant status.
Most of the other studies lasted for about 2 or 3 months. On the other hand, many of the reviews reported effects much earlier.
Here’s what we discovered from the people who mentioned how long they had taken CHOQ Shilajit:
- 36% of people saw results in 1-7 days
- 71% saw benefits in one month or less
- Surprisingly, a full 16% of people reported results within the first 3 days
Quick caveat though: while it’s somewhat rare to get effects that early, it’s certainly possible. This is more likely if you’re the kind of person who pays a lot of attention to your energy levels and focus (the 2 most common benefits).
In terms of the effects reported in all 73 of the reviews, the most common was more energy (63%), then improved focus (40%), then general (19%) & healthy mood (also 19%), then healthy sleep (8%).
In conclusion, you might feel at least some benefits after a week or two, but it’s worth being patient to get the full effects. Many people report better energy, mood, or focus within the first month.
On the other hand, the studies suggest that you should take it for 2 – 3 months. That’s especially true if you’re taking Shilajit for its effects on skin & collagen, since connective tissue doesn’t change overnight.
(See studies 3, 4, 7, and 9 for evidence of how Shilajit can support healthy skin and collagen production)
Analysis of how long Shilait was taken & which effects were reported based on real reviews
Here’s the methodology we used when we analyzed the reviews of CHOQ Shilajit:
- STEP 1: we read through all 700+ reviews and identified 73 that specifically mentioned how long someone had been taking it
- STEP 2: we recorded the length of time it was taken and which effects were reported
- STEP 3: we sorted through all of the data and drew conclusions
Check out these two graphs for a quick visual on how the data breaks down:
How much Shilajit were they taking?
Dosing was almost never mentioned in the reviews, and so we had to make the fair assumption that most people are taking the standard dose of 500 mg per day (which is the exact dose used in most of the studies).
Of course, it’s always possible that some of them may have taken more or less than the suggested amount, but unfortunately we have no way of knowing. Many people prefer to save money by getting CHOQ Shilajit on subscription, so those folks are averaging one per day (each bottle is 30 caps).
How we labeled and sorted the reported effects
Since people can say things in a variety of different ways, we just went about labeling the effects according to common sense. Here are some real examples of the reviews we used and how we labeled them:
This review was labeled with the tags ‘focus’ and ‘energy’:
“I feel good, can squeeze out my home workouts quicker, actually started doing 60min routines with 90min rest then another 60min. No more brain fog, not as lethargic anymore either.”
This one was tagged as ‘mood’, ‘focus’, and ‘libido’:
“I am amazed at how great I feel. That pit in my stomach anxious feeling has gone away. I feel so much more calm and relaxed. My libido has also improved. I feel more focused.”
And this one was labeled ‘sleep’ and ‘energy’:
“Already feeling the mountain power kick in, been taking them for over a week now and can already notice a big difference in sleep and energy levels.”
In many cases, people would use the actual words we’re looking for, but in other cases, we used what we consider a logical interpretation. For example, in the first of the three reviews we just shared, we tagged it as ‘energy’ because he said he was ‘not as lethargic anymore’ and that he got through his workouts faster.
As we mentioned in the summary, many people did not specify what the exact benefit was, which is why we came up with the ‘general’ tag.
Here are 2 real instances of the ‘general’ benefit tag:
“By far the best thing that I have come across through Instagram. Very grateful, results are evident and I’m only one week in!”
“One of the better ones on the market. Felt a difference after 10 days of taking this.”
A quick note on the mentioning of libido in CHOQ Shilajit reviews
Only 3 out of the 73 reviews (about 4%) mentioned improvements in libido. Based on our knowledge of how Shilajit supports hormone health (and how it’s used for this purpose in Ayurveda), you might expect a higher number, but there’s a good reason it may have been underreported.
Many people are a little bit bashful about talking about something like sexual wellbeing in a public review, so it’s possible that they’re more likely to report other effects. We can’t say for sure, but this seems fairly likely.
Reviews that mentioned sleep & dreaming
A total of 6 out of the 73 reviews mentioned improvements in sleep. Notably, half of these specifically mentioned improvements in dreaming. We decided to simplify the way we presented the data and combine these (since dreaming is obvioulsy a part of healthy sleep).
As you’ll see in the next section, Shilajit has not been clinically studied for sleep health, but considering that almost 10% of the reviews mentioned it, it’s possible that it may have some positive effects in this area.
If you’re looking for healthy sleep support, then CHOQ Ashwagandha is your top choice. In our in-depth review of Ashwagandha research, we found a lot of evidence to support that claim. Our top-selling Male Vitality STAQ and Female Vitality STAQ both contain Shilajit & Ashwagandha because they’re so synergistic.
(The CHOQ Daily in our Male Vitality STAQ contains the same dose of Shilajit as our standalone product.)
How long Shilajit takes to work according to the human clinical research
Though there are also studies on animals like mice and even dogs, we decided to keep it 100 and only use research that was done on actual people.
What’s especially important to know about these 10 clinical studies is that 8 of them were done on the exact same one that’s in CHOQ Shilajit (Primavie®).
We go out of our way to use research-backed ingredients. Not only is our Shilajit more standardized than others (see below), but it’s also the exact one that nearly all the clinical studies use.
All but one of the human studies on Examine.com were based on the same Shilajit that’s in CHOQ, and not the generic tar-in-a-jar stuff.
How is our Shilajit is ‘more standardized’ than the generics?
”Standardization” is just a fancy term for when an ingredient is sent to a lab to make sure it has a minimum amount of certain bioactive molecules.
The proprietary Shilajit extract we use is verified to contain at least 50% Fulvic Acid and 10.3% DBPs (Dibenzo-Alpha-Pyrones).
These energy-boosting compounds are 100% essential to Shilajit’s ability to enhance vitality and focus. While some of the generics are standardized for Fulvic Acid, we’ve never seen one that has labs on this other very important kind of molecule.
Shilajit clinical studies sorted according to length
In the interest of keeping this article from getting too long, here’s a quick summary of each Shilajit study. If you’d like to read them yourself, use the study number to look it up in the references section.
Note that only the first two studies on the list were on generics, but studies #3-10 all used the exact proprietary Shilajit that we use.
Regarding dosing: out of those 8 studies, 7 of them demonstrated effects at or below the same 500 mg daily dose that we use (study #4 used 1,000 mg).
HERE ARE THE STUDIES AND THE BENEFITS EACH ONE FOUND:
- Study #1 (1 month) – promoted healthy bone formation
- Study #2 (1.5 months) – supported healthy cholesterol; improved antioxidant status
- Study #3 (2 months) – increased energy; reduced effects of fatigue on muscle strength; decreased collagen breakdown
- Study #4 (2 months) – increased collagen production
- Study #5 (3 months) – increased free testosterone (in males only)
- Study #6 (3 months) – increased testosterone, sperm count, and sperm motility
- Study #7 (3 months) – increased collagen production and skeletal muscle adaptation
- Study #8 (3 months) – increased circulation by boosting nitric oxide; increased glutathione production; supported healthy cholesterol levels and inflammation response
- Study #9 (3.3 months) – improved skin health by increasing microperfusion; increased activation of genes related to blood vessel growth
- Study #10 (11.2 months) – promoted healthy bone density
(Though Shilajit has been shown to support increased testosterone in men, it will not cause unwanted hormonal changes or inappropriately high testosterone in women. Adaptogens like Shilajit work to provide balance in the individual person taking them.)
On Shilajit safety & side effects
It’s important to quickly mention that not only is the Shilajit we use lab-analyzed for contaminants, but the studies on it showed no side effects.
All but one of the studies on this unique, patented Shilajit asked the participants about adverse events, and none were reported.
(Disclaimer: everyone is different in how they respond to supplements, so always consult with your doctor to see if a product is right for you.)
Additional resources on Shilajit
By now, it should be obvious that we love Shilajit, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we have a more articles on it.
Our Shilajit benefits page is an extremely thorough resource. You’ll find a variety of answers to common questions about it there and links to even more resources.
In our article “Shilajit: an Ideal Adaptogen for Challenging Times,” we talk about the history of this famous adaptogen as well as dive more more into the research on how it works in your body.
As mentioned earlier, we use it in several of our product bundles, including our top seller: the CHOQ Male Vitality STAQ. If you’re new to adaptogens and looking for a potent way to boost your masculine vigor, it’s a great option.
Here’s a list of the other CHOQ STAQs that use our favorite adaptogen:
- Max Performance STAQ – good for both men & women; includes our ultra-clean Chad Mode pre-workout as well as Tongkat Ali and Action 2.0 with wild-crafted Rhodiola
- Male Vitality STAQ Ultra – the ultimate T-boosting bundle that’s strong enough to scare the uninitiated
- Female Vitality STAQ – paired with Aswhwagandha for mood/stress support and wild-crafted Irish Moss
- Female Vitality STAQ Ultra – the best choice for women looking for advanced energy, mood, and focus support
References
1. Sadeghi, S. M. H., Hosseini Khameneh, S. M., Khodadoost, M., Hosseini Kasnavieh, S. M., Kamalinejad, M., Gachkar, L., Rampp, T., & Pasalar, M. (2020). Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 26(6), 521–528.
2. Sharma, P., Jha, J., Shrinivas, V., Dwivedi, L. K., Suresh, P., & Sinha, M. (2003). Shilajit: evalution of its effects on blood chemistry of normal human subjects. Ancient science of life, 23(2), 114–119.
3. Keller, J. L., Housh, T. J., Hill, E. C., Smith, C. M., Schmidt, R. J., & Johnson, G. O. (2019). The effects of Shilajit supplementation on fatigue-induced decreases in muscular strength and serum hydroxyproline levels. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 16(1), 3.
4. Neltner, T. J., Sahoo, P. K., Smith, R. W., Anders, J. P. V., Arnett, J. E., Schmidt, R. J., Johnson, G. O., Natarajan, S. K., & Housh, T. J. (2024). Effects of 8 Weeks of Shilajit Supplementation on Serum Pro-c1?1, a Biomarker of Type 1 Collagen Synthesis: A Randomized Control Trial. Journal of dietary supplements, 21(1), 1–12.
5. Pandit, S., Biswas, S., Jana, U., De, R. K., Mukhopadhyay, S. C., & Biswas, T. K. (2016). Clinical evaluation of purified Shilajit on testosterone levels in healthy volunteers. Andrologia, 48(5), 570–575.
6. Biswas, T. K., Pandit, S., Mondal, S., Biswas, S. K., Jana, U., Ghosh, T., Tripathi, P. C., Debnath, P. K., Auddy, R. G., & Auddy, B. (2010). Andrologia, 42(1), 48–56.
7. Das, A., Datta, S., Rhea, B., Sinha, M., Veeraragavan, M., Gordillo, G., & Roy, S. (2016). The Human Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome in Response to Oral Shilajit Supplementation. Journal of medicinal food, 19(7), 701–709.
8. Niranjan, K., Ramakanth, G.S., Fatima, N., & Usharani, P. (2016). International Journal of Ayurveda and Pharma Research, 4.
9. Das, A., S El Masry, M., Gnyawali, S. C., Ghatak, S., Singh, K., Stewart, R., Lewis, M., Saha, A., Gordillo, G., & Khanna, S. (2019). Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 38(6), 526–536.
10. Pingali, U., & Nutalapati, C. (2022). Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 105, 154334.
