Baking soda is often hailed as a miracle worker in every home. Its use has undoubtedly gone beyond cooking as it cleans surfaces in the house, from kitchen counters to bathroom toilets. It also has purported health benefits, such as treating heartburn, calluses, and canker sores. Given its reputation as a potent cleaning agent, baking soda has been associated with one of the most difficult substances to clean.
It may have been a week since you smoked marijuana, but the traces of the substance can linger in your body. Worst of all, the parent drug or its metabolites can be detectable in your urine for days or weeks. This will not turn out well if you are trying to land a job with an offer that requires you to pass a drug test.
So will using or ingesting baking soda clean up your test results? Will the popular home remedy help you pass a urine drug test? Let’s dig into baking soda and the truth behind the popular belief that it beats a drug test.
What Is Baking Soda?
Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, and bicarbonate of soda are the same thing. Americans use baking soda, while people in the United Kingdom and Australia prefer bicarbonate. It is a salt; back in the 19th century, people referred to it as aerated salt. It is characterized as white, fine, odorless, and powdery.
The chemical compound is an alkaline substance with a pH of 9. On the pH scale, baking soda is a base. Mixing it with water will dissolve, make the water more basic, and produce a fizz. When you combine it with acid, it will neutralize the acidic substance. This is why baking soda treats acid reflux and soothes indigestion. Alka-Seltzer, a widely known tablet, contains sodium bicarbonate.
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In the realm of cooking, baking soda acts as a leavening agent for cakes, pancakes, and other baked goods. It causes the dough to rise and expand. Some also add a pinch to a boiling soup pot for vegetables to become greener and softer.
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Aside from being a natural antacid, baking soda also acts as a mouthwash, teeth whitener, and itch and sunburn reliever.
Baking Soda and Urine Drug Testing
Drug testing using urine is a common practice, if not the most popular way to check drug use. The test has a relatively long detection window compared to saliva because it can take a while for the body to metabolize the drug and excrete it as urine. The detection window of a substance is also influenced by the duration of the drug’s effect.
No one knows when people started using baking soda to lower the level of toxins so they won’t exceed the cutoff level of the urine test. It’s one of those home remedies that get popular as some become more desperate to pass their test.
One example is this lethal concoction that combines baking soda, bleach, and water. Experts have emphasized that it has no medical proof of effectiveness. Thus, others stick to mixing baking soda and water, as noted below.
How to Pass a Urine Drug with Baking Soda
Sources differ on the specifics of the baking soda drug test method. The generally known procedure follows these steps:
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Stir 3–5 tablespoons of baking soda in a glass of water (the amount of water will depend on your drug dosage). Drink it down.
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Urinate at least three times within 30–60 minutes.
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Continue drinking water 3 hours before your test.
The purported trick is to repeat the first step so that you can urinate more often and thus clear the urine of drug traces.
An Internet Myth Debunked
A scientific study has yet to conclusively confirm the ability of baking soda to pass a urine drug test. The evidence, for now, is anecdotal and on a case-by-case basis. The method is more known among those who use methamphetamine. The frequency of drug use and the person's physical condition, such as weight and body mass index, also play a part in the effectiveness of any product or solution to beat a drug test.
You can try the baking soda drug test method, but make sure not to consume baking soda excessively. The misuse can result in serious electrolyte imbalance, according to this research. Other possible outcomes include vomiting and diarrhea. More importantly, drinking too much liquid can dilute the urine, raising concerns about your urine specimen's validity. You may be asked to redo the urinalysis.
To be sure you can beat a urine drug test, look into products formulated to purge drug toxins from your body. Examples are toxin-rid products that are dietary supplements aimed to clean your system, depending on the level of exposure. Cleansing drinks, plus Toxin Rid pills, are also strong contenders. You will find these products in specialist stores like TestClear.
Our company, Testclear, takes the time to research common myths about passing a drug test. We give objective and thoughtful information about the most common drug testing myths. We conclude that Baking Soda is NOT an effective way to pass a drug test if you have questions about how to pass a drug test effectively.
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