Can you take vitamins on a fast day?
asked Jan 19 '11 at 21:10
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1Somewhere Rav Moshe Feinstein says that vitamins need a hashgacha because they provide 'sustenance.' That could be relevant here...– Double AA ♦Jan 6 '12 at 1:52
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Can you take vitamins on a fast day?– Double AA ♦Jul 8 '15 at 4:34
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A partial answer: I have heard from my rabbi, but of course contact your own for an halachic ruling, that prenatal vitamins (prescription or over-the-counter) which one's doctor says to take have the same rule as any other medicine prescribed by a doctor.
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1Many women taking prenatals do not observe minor fasts, and likely would be eating Shi'urim anyway for major fasts.– Seth JMar 14 '11 at 3:53
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@msh Very thorough. Why not post that link as an answer to this question? As for pregnant women, I can only tell you that 1, I assume most, but not all, women taking prenatal vitamins are pregnant, and 2, I was witness and party to a pregnant woman's psak from a respected Rav to eat Shi'urim and that anything that fit in the Shi'ur, liquid or solid, food, medicine, or antacid, was fair game.– Seth JMar 14 '11 at 12:05
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1@SethJ you acknowledge not everyone taking prenatal vitamins is pregnant. I'd note that some women take them while trying to become pregnant. Sep 24 '12 at 19:30
Swallowing a regular pill is not considered eating food, and is permitted on a fast day and does not require a bracha. However, chewable bills (that have flavor) are different, and probably cannot be taken on a fast.
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+1, with the caveat that one is not allowed to drink water to swallow the vitamin pill on a fast day. (Again, unless this person is ill, and a doctor has mandated that this person must take a vitamin pill on this day - but if one is that ill, perhaps one ought not fast at all).– user1095Jan 2 '12 at 8:19
I would think not, unless they were prescribed by a doctor. Vitamins are not medicine and are taken voluntarily and therefore would not be considered as a danger if you miss taking them one day.
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