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Poppy Seed Myths: How True Are They?

If you are a great fan of culinary arts, perhaps poppy seeds are quite familiar with you. For the benefit of all, poppy seeds are minute kidney-like seeds that are harvested straight from the seedpods of a plant known as opium poppy. Poppy seeds have been long surviving throughout human history and have been cultivated as a basic remedy on various ailments. Presently, poppy pods play a very significant role on various dishes of home cooked meals and even on commercially manufactured foods.

Through the ages, there have been some theories that evolved out of the tricky minds of some people. They have been labeled as nothing more than legends and myths for no strong evidences were brought out in relation to such urban legends.

One very strong speculation as regards poppies is the possibility of having a positive drug test result after ingesting poppy seeds. This misconception was basically due to the fact that the resin from poppy seeds is used as a main ingredient in producing morphine, codeine, and heroine. Before, a lot of people were baffled of such myth, which made them refrain from eating commercial foods with poppy seeds as its main ingredient, and even stopped using them for their home cooked meals. The issue became more sensitive and discomforting when it was strongly insisted that ingestion of poppy seeds on any amount could lead to a positive drug result from Opiates.   Nonetheless, this is a just mere urban legend.

However, it is somehow far from possible to gain a positive drug test by eating foods with a poppy seed ingredient. This was proved by drug testing laboratories that use Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. This specific two-step process is specifically intended for the three main components of the Opiod class namely, codeine, morphine, and heroin. In this process, a 300 ng/ml result is contracted from a person who has been eating poppy seeds. The Department of Health and Human Services set a cutoff level of 2,000 ng/ml for the Opiate class. Under this guideline, people who are fond of eating poppy seed based goods are safe from having a positive drug result and only those who are truly using opium based illegal drugs are confirmed.

Generally, one has to submit a drug test result when aiming for a job. This is one of the many security measures that most hiring companies do every time they go out looking for a new member of their empire. Out of the previously mentioned myth, a new yet directly related one came out of the open insisting poppy seeds to be the main cause of a job opportunity failure. By ingestion of poppy seeds on any amount, a good and stable job opportunity is simply lost due to a positive drug result. Even worse, having a positive drug test result gives you a shameful title of being a drug user. This specific case may have happened to some when the cutoff level for the Opiate class was still at 300 ng/ml. Such result was so alarming as ingestion of poppy seeds can also provide the same result making the Department of Health and Human Services raise the cutoff level to 2,000 ng/ml.

Nowadays, such misleading beliefs on poppy seeds are nothing but mere distractions. As the newly set guideline has proven to be more effective than before, such myths are merely a hindrance to your success and your moving on with life. As what most myths are, the ones mentioned above are nothing but unproven theories.