halal = healthy?

the other day i got into a heated debate with one of my friends..

it started when she excitedly told me that she just discovered this halal brand that sells vitamins and those herbs and what nots in pills and liquid form..

according to my friend, she has been looking for a halal brand for the vitamins and herbs pills that she has been taking and she cant wait to get her hands on this brand..

i pointed out to her that while yes, it is good and all that the pills are certified halal, but it does not mean those pills are necessarily good for you..at the end of the day, you have to consult your doctor to ensure what you are consuming is suitable and does not give bad side effects..

she looked at me and meanly said she wonders what kind of Muslim i am that i am questioning the goodness of halal products and have i become too modern that i dont even know what halal actually means!

i felt really frustated!

i tried to explain to her...i start first with admitting that i may not be the perfect Muslim and i may not know certain things and of course we are always in the learning process, but my understanding is, when something is labelled halal, it simply just means the production and the content does not include any haram items e.g. pig, alcohol etc and if they use any animal products, it is prepared in the Islamic way. but that still does not mean that items is good for your health!!

i mean for example, if u take a pill right, and its produced halal-ly BUT it comes from some unknown plant, a plant you have never heard of before, would you simply eat the pill? without wanting to know what is its effects? is it suitable for your body? wouldnt you want to consult a doctor first before taking it?

we did not solve this issue in the end and just agree to disagree..

what do you think?