MEDICATIONS AND KASHRUS

Please note: This information is taken from various published sources. Since medical halachah should be paskened on an individual basis by a competent Rav, this is only to serve as a general guideline.

The following is by Rabbi Doniel Neustadt, prepared for print by Riva Pomerantz. Courtesy of Family First Magazine

Q:        I have been told that painkillers don’t need a hechsher since they are ingested without actually being eaten. Is this true? Is the same true of vitamins and other dietary supplements that are swallowed in pill or capsule form?

A:        Preferably, all medications should be kosher, Still, a person classified as a choleh---someone who either is bedridden, or cannot function normally due to pain or weakness, or is a healthy child under the age of nine---may swallow pills or tablets without being overly concerned about their kashrus status. (Chewable or liquid medications require kosher certification.) Vitamins, on the other hand, are different; in general, these are not taken by cholim as medications but by healthy people who wish to boost their health. These types of supplements do not have the halachic status of medication and may not be taken without a reliable kosher certification. (Note that in addition to gelatin capsules, which are usually made from non-kosher sources, the vitamin itself may contain nonkosher ingredients.)

Q:        My doctor recently prescribed a supplement that’s marked as dairy and is not cholov Yisroel. Is there an issue with taking it? And if I am swallowing it whole, must I wait six hours after eating meat in order to take it?

A:        If it is a supplement, then it is considered like a food item; you should not take it if you are generally careful to eat only chalav Yisroel. If the medication is in capsule or pill form (many ob-gyn prescriptions contain lactose), then you need not be concerned about its chalov Yisroel status. If necessary, you may take the medication one hour after eating meat.