Jul 6, 2009

Poppy Seeds Misconceptions: Know the Facts

By George ONeil

Poppy seeds are one of the most common things you can find in a kitchen. These are directly harvested form its seedpods out of a plant called opium poppy taking the shape of a small kidney like structure. poppy seeds for sale have been long known through many centuries and were mainly used to treat various ailments. In our times, a different approach is applied on poppy seeds and that is using these seeds on a lot of tasty and delicious recipes.

Recently, there have been some beliefs going around regarding the use of these seeds. These misconceptions are nothing more than just myths with no firm evidence supporting its speculations.

One widely known myth of poppy seeds is the shameful and unfortunate result it can cause on a drug test. Such myth came out in relation to the fact that poppy seed resin is a common element in the manufacture of codeine, heroine, and morphine. When it first came out, a lot of people were alarmed making them avoid poppy seed based goods and even refrained from using them on their usual dishes. 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. But bear in mind that this is just a myth and nothing more.

However, it is somehow far from possible to gain a positive drug test by eating foods with a poppy seed ingredient. Such firm statement is supported by various drug testing laboratories that are using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. These laboratories use a two step process used to confirm the presence of heroine, codeine, and morphine, which are the three main members of the Opiod class. 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.

In most times, drug tests are needed to fill in a vacant slot 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. Another particular myth which is directly related to the previous one is the potential of poppy seeds in taking away your job opportunity. This myth suggests that eating foods that contain poppy seeds by any amount can definitely result to a positive drug test making you loose the chance of landing on a good job. Much worse, it can label you as a drug user. This may have been true and have been a misfortune to some back when the cut off level for the Opiate class was still at low 300 ng/ml. As ingestion of poppy seeds can provide the same result, the Department of Health and Human Services raised the cutoff level to 2,000 ng/ml.

Nowadays, such misleading beliefs on poppy seeds are nothing but mere distractions. With a more efficient guideline, you can freely enjoy the health benefits of eating poppy seed based foods. As what most myths are, the ones mentioned above are nothing but unproven theories.

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