Question:
I am very deficient in vitamin D3. I was prescribed a 6-week course of one gel capsule of Vitamin D 50,000 IU weekly.
My concern is that typically gel capsules are made from gelatin. I want to know if this specific medicine would be okay for me to take and whether it is common to have pork-sourced gelatin.
Answer:
Bismihi taʻālā
Patients with Vitamin D deficiency are often prescribed capsules that contain 50,000 international units (IU). These prescription capsules contain gelatin, which is impermissible to consume, because it is sourced from pork or non-Islamically slaughtered animals.[i]
According to the Sharīʻah, medications with impermissible ingredients can only be used when certain conditions are met. A Muslim patient can only use the medication internally or externally when instructed by an experienced doctor (thereby making him certain that a cure is expected from the medication) and when an alternative halal medication is unavailable.[ii] In the case of Vitamin D supplementation, multiple vegan and vegetarian formulations are available over the counter and are permissible to consume.[iii] Therefore, gelatin-containing prescription capsules are impermissible to consume unless a patient cannot tolerate any permissible alternatives or if there is a lack of response to the permissible alternatives due to allergies, malabsorption, or other factors.[iv]
For Vitamin D deficiency requiring 50,000 IU weekly, we recommend that patients obtain vegan liquid Vitamin D3 that contains 10,000 IU per drop. Five drops can be taken weekly. For smaller doses, vegan capsules, tablets, and gummies ranging from 1000-5000 IU can also be purchased over the counter without a prescription.
And Allah knows best,
Mufti Adil Farooki, MD
Mawlana Mateen Khan, MD
For additional discussion on Vitamin D, see the following:
For further discussion on medication with impermissible ingredients, see the following:
[i] https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/lookup.cfm?setid=2c4c0a36-12cf-444d-9d57-de983eef4d36#:~:text=Each%20capsule%20contains%20Vitamin%20D,in%20an%20edible%20vegetable%20oil.&text=Inactive%20Ingredients%3A%20FD%26C%20Blue%20%231,Soybean%20oil%20and%20Titanium%20dioxide.
[ii] الدر المختار وحاشية ابن عابدين (رد المحتار) – دار الفكر-بيروت (1/210)
[iii] Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 May; 89(5): 1686S–1692S.
[iv] Osteoporos Int. 2017;28(11):3239. Epub 2017 Aug 16
muslimmed.org 