Category: How to pass

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• Urine Drug Testing: pH Levels

  Posted on February 7th, 2012 How to pass

  When you submit your sample for a urine drug test there are a few parameters that are measured besides the presence of drug toxins in your urine.  The temperature of your sample is recorded along with the creatinine level, the specific gravity of your urine and the pH level.

  What is the pH level of urine?  The pH level indicates the acidity and alkalinity of your urine to determine if it is in the acceptable range.  The range of pH levels in your sample may indicate certain health conditions so it may serve as a warning sign of potential health dangers for you.  The normal pH range in urine is as follows:  a range from 0 to 7 indicates acidity in the urine, a level of 7 is a neutral range and a measurement of 7 to 14 indicates alkalinity in the urine sample.

  The normal measuring range is somewhere between 5 and 8.5. The pH level also indicates the concentration of hydrogen ions in your sample.  A sample with a consistent alkaline pH level of around 7 or 8 may indicate a condition such as a urinary tract infection or someone who follows a strict vegetarian diet.  A sample with a consistently acidic pH level may indicate conditions such as fever, gout, emphysema, diabetic ketoacidosis or kidney stones.  Normal pH levels in urine range from 4 to 9 and values that fall below or above these levels may indicate that the sample may have been altered or adulterated or that the individual may need to seek medical attention

• Hard to read

  Posted on February 6th, 2012 How to pass

  Being an expert in everything is not easy, but when dealing with such a delicate matter as a home drug test, you are pretty much has to learn all the nuances about the procedure to be sure you got it right.

  -          Hello there, I need help – I got this home test thingy and cannot figure out exactly how to read it. I mean – I followed all of the instructions, but it does not really help me to understand what I got here. You see, there are these two lines, test and control, and I already called and asked about them earlier, but one of them is lighter that the other one. I used this detox drink just now, and now I am not sure

  -          A lighter test line indicates a “weak negative” – this means that you passed the test, but just above the cut off level.

  -          OK, but this is not very reassuring – how do I know that this test even works? Does it need to be the same intensity as the other one? May be this is not good enough for a test?

  -          Generally, a test line would not appear if the sample is positive, but if you like you can do the following: before using any detoxifying products, urinate in a clean cup and set it aside. Then use the product, follow the directions as it requires you to, and after a few urinations urinate in a different cup. Then take two different testers and dip them in into each cup simultaneously, this way you can observe how the lines appear on the testers.

  …

  -          Hi, I spoke with you yesterday about the faint test line on the home test, and I have followed your advice and compared the two tests before and after the drink – yes! the test line does not appear at all on my “dirty” urine, but on the other one I can clearly see it. Just wanted to call in and thank you for your advice!

• Drug Testing In The Workplace – Part 5

  Posted on February 3rd, 2012 How to pass

  Surveys were conducted between 1985 and 1991 showing the percentage increase of companies practicing drug testing as a standard for employment went from 18% to 40% in just that 6 year time frame. Most of those were from companies with employees in the hundreds. The larger the company the more likely you are to be tested. This seems to be the general consensus on this issue. There are a few court systems that have put specific restrictions on testing, claiming it to be a violation of privacy to test an employee with a reasonable suspicion of drug use on the employee’s behalf.

  In today’s economy with jobs becoming even harder to come by it is important that we as the public take as many precautions as we can to ensure our employment. Drug testing will not be going away any time soon it seems, especially not with drug testing being now federally mandated as a common practice for companies and employers.  It is not as though these companies are making the decisions themselves to test their employees, more and more people are becoming aware of the facts surrounding drug testing and actual accidents in the workplace that can be directly linked to an employee’s drug use. The Drug Free Workplace Act of 1998 actually provided small incentives to employers to create a Drug Testing policy for their companies, this was especially beneficial to smaller companies with fewer employees who could use all the tax breaks they could get and won’t have to be out a lot of money to test a small number of employees.

• Creatine or Creatinine: Which Is It?

  Posted on February 2nd, 2012 How to pass

  When you are required to take a urine drug test you often hear the terms creatine or creatinine used to describe one of the elements that they test for in your urine.  What are they and what is the difference between the two?

  Creatine is a compound that is produced in your liver and then it is delivered to your muscles where it is used as energy for your muscular activity.  Creatine is formed when your body converts food into energy. Once the creatine is delivered to the muscles some of it automatically is converted to creatinine.

  Creatinine is the waste product produced when your muscles break down the creatine. Muscle mass determines the amounts of creatine and creatinine found in the body so men usually have more than women.  When you submit your urine sample for a drug test one of the parameters is the level of creatinine in your sample.  Creatinine is mostly excreted by your kidneys so this is a good measurement of how well your kidneys are functioning.  Creatinine levels will be slightly higher in men than in women due to the difference in muscle mass.

  Using blood and urine sample your creatinine levels can be assessed to formulate a creatinine clearance.  This is a measurement of how effective your kidneys are in filtering small particles like creatinine out of your blood.   Your physician may order tests to assess your creatinine levels when symptoms of kidney dysfunction are detected.  Some symptoms are fatigue, poor appetite and a decrease in the amount of urine that is being produced.  Puffiness or swelling around the eyes, wrists, stomach, thighs or ankles are also tell-tale signs of kidney problems.  If you have problems urinating or feel a burning sensation or if your urine is foamy, darker or bloody or you urinate more frequently than you usually do then these can be signs also.  High blood pressure may be a result of kidney problems also.

• What is abnormal?

  Posted on February 1st, 2012 How to pass

  What do you expect from a drug test? Of course, everyone wants to pass a drug test and get over and done with it as soon as possible. However, sometimes things get complicated, and not in the way one would have expected.

  -          Hi, a have a quick question – what is abnormal? I got my urine test results back today, and all it says here is “abnormal specimen.” I am not sure I understand what that means exactly.

  -          That is a general term that they use to indicate that there was something wrong with your urine. Each specimen has to conform to the accepted standards, and before testing for drugs each sample is first checked for several characteristics that normal human urine has – acceptable temperature range, pH level, creatine level, specific gravity levels. If the urine complies with accepted standards, they move onto the testing for drug metabolites.

  -          I see. Would drinking vinegar mess up the urine sample characteristics?

  -          Yes, it would – it is very acidic and throws off all the reading of the chart.

  -          I guess I should have thought about it before. Someone told me it would help me pass, and I did not think anything of it. Although it did make me so sick when I drank it, I thought I would pass out. My stomach still hurts, and I did not even pass the test! What a waste!

  If you have a urine test coming up shortly, make sure you do your homework and do not use anything that was not created specifically to aid you in a passing of a drug test, like professional detox products were.

• Drug Testing In The Workplace – Part 4

  Posted on January 31st, 2012 How to pass

  The Committee on Drug Use in the Workplace (CDUW) reviewed many so called ‘studies’ and the conclusions they brought to the attention of many companies were that there simply wasn’t enough proof that a drug testing program was a good idea. There had been no evidence to support the ideal that drug testing programs once put into action had any actual impact whatsoever on work force productivity. They cautioned companies against making decisions to implement a program based on the little ‘evidence’ that was available. They tried to spread the word about how much of that evidence was unsubstantiated and unproven, but at yet another point in our sad history of America, government propaganda won out. They had done such a good job convincing companies and the general public that drug testing programs were not only good ideas, but should be implemented immediately, that companies simply got to it.

  But of course, propaganda is not the only culprit in this case. The government went even a step further, and actually turned their beliefs into law and legislation. Mandatory drug testing policies and programs were put into place. Companies were forced to comply, whether or not they ever agreed to. The push of these programs came from The Drug Free Workplace Act which was passed in 1986. From then on drug testing in the workplace became commonplace. Slowly but surely it became standard practice. A significant increase in the number of companies that have programs already in place began once this Act was passed, all the way to the present.

• Exploring The Health Benefits of Copper

  Posted on January 30th, 2012 How to pass

  Now don’t start swallowing pennies but there are some health benefits to having the proper levels of copper in our bodies.  Copper is an important mineral for several bodily functions including energy production, maintaining adequate growth schedules, utilizing the iron that we take in, proper enzyme utilization, and maintaining healthy hair, eyes, and connective tissue.  It is also beneficial to a healthy heart rhythm, thyroid, cholesterol levels and helping with healing wounds and arthritis.

  Our bodies do not produce copper naturally so we must keep up with a daily intake through our food.  This valuable mineral helps us to maintain a healthy metabolism with the help of many other vitamins and amino acids.  A copper deficiency can lead to serious health problems. Some of these health complications include: anemia, osteoporosis, low white blood cell count, brittle bones, low body temperature, low white blood cell count, high cholesterol levels, lowered resistance to fighting infections, birth defects, Thyroid problems, low skin pigmentation, and an irregular heartbeat.  Symptoms of a copper deficiency include: paleness, hair loss, anorexia, stunted growth, dermatitis, lethargy, bleeding under the skin and diarrhea.

  In order to maintain the adequate levels of copper in our systems we need to eat foods that are a rich source of this ital mineral.  Foods such as liver, meat, seafood, beans, whole grains, wheat bran, beets, oats, almonds and other nuts, avocado, garlic and lentils are wonderful sources of copper.  Fresh oysters are also a rich source of copper as well as drinking water because most tap water is carried through copper pipes.

• Bad Timing

  Posted on January 27th, 2012 How to pass

  There is a lot of information out there, and with multiple sources for everything it is very easy to get confused. Little error may play a big role as far as passing a drug test is concerned.

  -         Hi, how is it going? I have a question for you – I guess you get this one all the time, but I am a little confused. I had a urine test last week, and I just found out that I failed it. Back in a day I used to smoke a lot, but then I stopped, and then started again, but it was only every once in a while, mostly on the weekends. Anyway, when I heard that I had to go do a drug test, I just stopped smoking and was clean for over two weeks by then. I looked it up, and I figured I would be clean by then. I looked up the chart with detection time and everything! It said that light to moderate users should be clean in a matter of a couple weeks. Why did I fail?

  -         Well, the chart is not a rule, but more of a guideline. It differs for every person and depends on many more factors than just frequency and intensity of use.

  -         It said 48 hours! That is why I thought I should be good.

  -         The chart that you looked up – was that for saliva or urine detection time?

  -         Oh, there is a difference? I am not sure which one it was.

  -         Unfortunately, there is a great difference – in the urine it can be detected for up to eleven weeks, but saliva testing only detects recent usage.

  -         Oh, I see! I guess I should have played it safe and used some kind of detox drink, even though I was clean for two weeks…

• Drug Testing In The Workplace – Part 3

  Posted on January 26th, 2012 How to pass

  The most amusing of all facts surrounding this issue is that the organization created to look into the studies and create a blanket policy for drug testing in the work place concluded that the costs of the tests and the actual low percentage of positive results meant that drug testing would not be cost effective. The money a company could waste in performing the tests far outweighed the benefits the company would reap by having the knowledge the tests would afford them.

  One of the bigger problems facing a potential employee with regard to the companies drug testing policy is the test itself. There are currently no regulations that determine what kind of test is done, where or how it’s done, or even by whom. Meaning that you as a potential employee could be asked to go to the medical office of the company and provide a sample that they will then send off to some lab you haven’t heard of to run a test on the sample. This has caused a fair amount of incorrect test results on potential employees who have fought what the lab originally found only to discover their sample was a false positive, and in some rare cases even a false negative. Despite the occurrences of incorrect test results that upon further review were found to be clean employers have continued to use and stand by their policies and labs, despite evidence that these practices and beliefs have done far more harm than good.

• Are You a Good Chromium or a Bad Chromium?

  Posted on January 25th, 2012 How to pass

  What exactly is chromium and why is it an ingredient in detox products?  Chromium is a mineral that all human beings need to maintain good health.  There are basically two types of chromium: trivalent chromium (chromium 3 +) and hexavalent chromium (chromium 6 +).  The trivalent chromium is the good chromium and the hexavalent chromium is the bad chromium which is found in industrial pollution.  The hexavalent chromium is the type that is toxic and was featured in the movie Erin Brockovich.   Trivalent chromium is the good chromium which is found in food and is essential for many of our body’s functions.  We will contain our discussion to trivalent chromium.

  Chromium is an essential nutrient for maintaining a good metabolism.  Chromium helps monitor and stabilize the blood sugar, helps your metabolism, regulates levels of cholesterol and fats in the body, helps to control appetite, and helps prevent hypertension and high blood pressure.  How our bodies break down fats, proteins and carbohydrates is directly affected by the levels of chromium we have in our system.

  Chromium bolsters the effectiveness of the insulin that our bodies produce which has a direct result on how our bodies store carbohydrates, fats and proteins.  Chromium can be found in brewer’s yeast, beer, whole grains, thyme, rye, peas, oysters, processed meats, peas, potatoes, coffee, tea and cereal.  Taking a chromium supplement regularly can help reduce the risk of heart disease.  Chromium also helps fight infections and protect cells from damage.

  Taking a chromium supplement is good for you but like anything else you must make sure that you are taking the proper levels.  Too much chromium in your system can cause damage to your organs or interfere with other medications that you take.  Liver and kidney damage can occur with too much chromium intake as well as gastrointestinal ulcers and rashes.  A balanced diet of meats, milk, vegetables and whole grains should provide you with sufficient amounts of chromium. Before taking a chromium supplement you should consult with your physician if you are already on prescribed medications as there may be interactions between the two.