Many products in the shilajit market are lying to you about their most important stat– their fulvic content. Want to know how to dig through the lies? We’re here to help.
Why All The Fulvic Lies?
Shilajit took the social media market by storm merely a couple of years ago because of its large range of health benefits. Some of its most prominent benefits being: its ability to improve energy, offer immune support, & its possession of antioxidant properties.
How can it do these seemingly miraculous feats?
One of shilajit’s biggest contributors to its health benefits is its fulvic acid content. This being the case, the most common distributors took it upon themselves to market in line with the motto: “bigger is better”. Even if it meant lying about how “big” their fulvic percentages are.
However, fulvic percentage in shilajit products is often merely a small but mighty presence– for example, Operation American Grit’s product, backed with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) conducted per-batch, is 35%. Those who claim higher percentages while labeling their products with buzzwords like, “pure”, “ancient”, or “all-natural” are selling blatant untruths to their customers.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
The most effective method for protecting yourself against Shilajit scams is to know the right questions to ask, and how to interpret their answers. Below are 4 essential questions to guide you on the right path to protecting yourself when a fulvic product is marketed to you.
Question 1: Does This Fulvic Product Claim To Be “Pure”?
Fulvic acid and shilajit products that have words on them such as “pure”, “all-natural”, or “ancient” aren’t necessarily an immediate red flag. But knowing to spot these words before looking at the percent of fulvic acid listed on a product is an important first step. Buzzwords like these will give you a clue of what percent range you should be seeing.
Question 2: What Fulvic Percentage Is Listed?
If the answer to Question 1 was: “yes, this product says it’s ‘pure’”, then finding the fulvic percentage listed is an imperative step in determining how legitimate the product you’re looking at is. If the percentage claimed is anything greater than 35-40%, you may be looking at a fake.
If the product doesn’t market itself as “pure” or “all-natural”, you may see higher fulvic contents due to chemical refining, but that is no indicator of safety for consumption.
Beware: even if the fulvic percentage falls at, or underneath, the 35-40% threshold, the lack of regulation of pure fulvic acid and shilajit mean that other dangers can lie within.
Question 3: What Testing Was Used For This Fulvic Product?
One of the most important things to be familiar with when sleuthing fulvic acid and shilajit product legitimacy is the testing used for fulvic content. There are many outdated or questionable methods which are used to falsely bolster product stats.
It’s easy for a company to make their product’s fulvic acid content look high by intentionally using a test method that mistakes other compounds within their products for pure fulvic acid. Some companies also don’t test for heavy metals, toxins, or bacteria. So, when examining a fulvic product’s legitimacy, looking at what testing they use is vital for your safety.
One of the top testing methods used to determine fulvic percentage, recognized by the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) & the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials (AAPFCO), and utilized by Operation American Grit, is the LAMAR Method.
How can you see a company’s LAMAR results? If not provided directly on a company’s site, you retain the right to request a company’s Certificate of Analysis (COA) for the fulvic product they’re pushing. In addition to a product’s LAMAR results, you’ll also be privy to a host of other safety information about the product you’ll be receiving.
A trustworthy COA should contain comprehensive results for the presence of heavy metals, bacterial strains, toxins, & minerals within a batch of product. With each result, the testing methods used should be mentioned on the COA as well (i.e. ICP-OES for minerals, ICP-MS for heavy metals, etc).
Question 4: Does This Product’s COA Match Its Batch Number?
When you find or receive a Certificate of Analysis from a distributor, the next step is to make sure the COA provided matches the batch of fulvic product being marketed to you.
This is done by checking the date of the analysis and by matching the batch number on the product you’re investigating with the one listed on the analysis itself.
If the numbers match, you can have more confidence in the legitimacy of the product you’re viewing.
Case Closed?
Unfortunately, the lack of regulation makes it hard to feel secure when wading through the fulvic market as it is today. But with these 4 essential questions strapped to your shopping tool belt, you are several steps closer to protecting yourself against health-scammers.
Want to equip yourself further? If, upon receiving a fulvic product, you believe that you have come across a counterfeit, there are some quick at-home tests you can use to ensure your safety further.
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