The following is excerpted from the excellent work Halachos of Refuah on Shabbos, by Rabbi Yisroel Pinchos Bodner, Shlita and Rabbi Daniel B. Roth, M.D. (Feldheim, 2008):
1. Vitamins which are taken to cure an existing illness are considered to be medicine, and may not be taken on Shabbos (unless one is Incapacitated, or will become Incapacitated [as defined in the Sefer] if he does not take the vitamins).
2. Hagaon Rav Moshe Feinstein, Z’tl, ruled that vitamins and minerals which are taken to supply the body with essential nutrients for growth, or which are taken to gradually enhance the body’s resistance to becoming ill, are not considered to be medicines. Other Poskim are of the opinion that all vitamins are considered medicines. According to this view, one may not take any type of vitamin on Shabbos. However, one can often achieve the desired objective by taking them right before and right after Shabbos.
3. One who has iron-deficiency anemia may not take iron supplements, because he is taking it like a medicine to cure his anemia. (He should take the iron supplements immediately before and after Shabbos).
4. Similarly, some people take Zinc or Vitamin C tablets at the onset of cold symptoms, which may enhance the immune system’s ability to arrest the growth of the cold virus (this approach, of course, is not conclusively proven). Because those tablets are being used as medicine to fight the virus, they may not be taken on Shabbos (unless the person is Incapacitated [as defined in the Sefer], in which case all medications, including vitamins, are permitted).
5. Substances which can pass as food, but which are only eaten for their medicinal qualities, may not be eaten to relieve an Ailment [as defined in the Sefer] on Shabbos. For example, someone suffering from heartburn may not drink a bi-carbonate beverage such as Alka Seltzer (which may pass as a seltzer beverage), or eat an antacid tablet such as a Kosher Tums-like product (which may pass as candy). Although these preparations are edible, because they are primarily used as medicine, they are included in the prohibition and may not be taken on Shabbos.
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