You may have heard rumors about using baking soda to pass drug tests. After all, baking soda seems to have a million-and-one uses, so maybe one of those uses is detoxing your system? Could it really be that simple? Unfortunately, when something sounds too good to be true, it often is, so we'll take a good look at what baking soda will really do.
So, does baking soda clean out your system?
By this, are you asking if baking soda will remove toxins from your body, such as for a drug test? Unfortunately, unless you're willing to hook yourself up to some kind of dialysis machine that will remove toxins directly from your blood, you need to rely on your kidneys and liver to do most of the work. Baking soda will do nothing to help here, but many ingredients have been used in herbal medicine for thousands of years to support the body in "blood cleansing." These days, you can get such things in convenient supplements.
What happens if you eat or drink baking soda?
In a low enough quantity, baking soda isn't harmful. This is why it's safe to use it as a raising agent in cakes and certain types of bread. In fact, half a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in water can settle an upset stomach or provide valuable relief from acid reflux.
When baking soda reacts with the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, it produces water, salt, and carbon dioxide. The water is harmless of course. The carbon dioxide, meanwhile, will likely lead to excessive burping, especially with a large dose, and possibly a bloated feeling. The salt presents the greatest health risk, however, especially if you have high blood pressure or are at risk of heart failure.
In short, baking soda shouldn't be used regularly or in large quantities. It certainly shouldn't be used in an attempt to pass a drug test, because 1) it will not help and 2) there's a good chance you may start "peeing out of your ass."
So, how can you clean your system?
If baking soda does not clean your system, what else can you do? If giving your body the time it needs to clean itself is not an option, even with a supporting detox program, there are other options for the various types of drug testing.
For example, for urine drug tests, detox drinks are a popular way to prepare. These work best with a period of abstinence, the longer the better, and are usually taken an hour or two before a drug test. As they take effect, the concentration of toxins in your urine drops, allowing you to safely take a urine drug test. The effect is temporary, however, so you need to be sure you give your sample within about five hours of taking the detox drink.
Saliva tests also have an easy solution in the form of detox mouthwashes. Just like with a regular mouthwash, you just need to swish it around your mouth, albeit for a little longer than you normally would.
