THC detox is to remove nearly every psychoactive cannabinoid within your body. You may need to detox because of an upcoming drug test within your company or you want to lower your THC resistance so you can fully enjoy weed you consume.
When it comes to talking about THC detox, plenty of myths are going around the marijuana community that taken as facts by some people. We will clear out some of this misinformation and give you a better understanding of THC within your system. We will also show you some tips on how you can cleanse your body of weed.
THC Detox and drug test myths
Many of the myths that surround the removal of THC from your body through different means can actually lead to serious health problems. Some are also spreading misinformation about the drug tests that companies require employees to take. Let us break down these myths with important facts.
- Say you are regularly inhaling second-hand weed smoke
One common excuse you may hear among some people is how they claim they have a roommate or relative who constantly smokes weed. If the lab test shows positive, these people will say that it can be due to second-hand smoke that they have to inhale.
Unfortunately, you cannot use this excuse if you consume marijuana. Drug tests can determine if the THC level in your system comes from second-hand smoke or not. Urinalysis for cannabis uses a cut-off point measurement of 50 nanograms per milliliter.
If you smoke weed or eat edibles, the THC in your urine will have more than the cut-off point during the test.
- Drinking acidic liquid will help flush THC from your system
Acidic liquid like apple vinegar can purge the psychoactive cannabinoid from anyone’s bloodstream. At least as far as the myth goes. This myth also found a safe method of using pickle juice, which is not as acidic as vinegar.
Other alternatives include drinking niacin supplements. Meanwhile, other people went to the extreme by recommending drinking bleach along with large amounts of water to avoid melting anyone’s stomach.
This myth comes from the belief that increasing the acidic substance in your system can melt the metabolites that carry THC. Melted metabolites will move towards your urine to exit from your body. Niacin not only increases the acidity of your blood, but it can also increase your metabolism.
According to the myth, high metabolism can break down the THC in your body. Niacin can also widen the blood vessels of your body to allow the cannabinoid to find its way out of your system in a short time.
The problem with introducing too much acid to your body is its ineffectiveness in breaking down the cannabis metabolites in your system. Vinegar, pickle juice, and other highly acidic substances will only mix with your stomach juices that brings down the pH level of your urine only.
Having too much acid in your stomach will have a negative impact on your digestive system such as gastroparesis. This condition hurts the nerves in your stomach and makes it hard to digest food. You may also experience intense heartburn and bloating.
Too much niacin also has no effect on the rate of THC detoxing within your system. Like vinegar, the toxicity of this nutrient can lead to side effects like fever, dry skin, and dehydration.
- Drinking more water and frequently peeing will easily flush away THC
Water is often the key ingredient to any detox diet. This led to the myth that drinking plenty of water can flush out most of the toxins in your body like the cannabinoid metabolites. Otherwise, you can dilute your urine to the point that the drug test will fail to find any traces of THC in your urine.
Drinking too much water will barely affect the THC content in your system. In addition, taking in an excessive amount of fluid can lead to water intoxication. This condition can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue.
Another myth that has the same nature is how peeing plenty of times can get rid of THC from your body faster. Apart from drinking a lot of water, some people turn to diuretics that encourages urination within the body. Diuretics can be in the form of common beverages like tea, coffee, or energy drinks. Some might take medications such as water pills to make them pee more.
The myth involving diuretics does have some truth, it can dilute your urine and lower the concentration of THC within it. However, it does not completely remove all of the metabolites in your system. In addition, taking too many diuretic medications often can lead to concerning medical conditions. These conditions include low blood pressure and low thyroid levels.
Tips for THC detoxing that works
After clearing out several myths about cleansing your body of THC, let us move on to the workable methods in detoxing your system. Many of these tips may seem obvious or are twisted into the misinformation mentioned above. However, these will help you clean your system and pass most drug tests.
- Quit taking cannabis
The first step of THC detoxing is to stop bringing in more to your system by abstaining from smoking weed or eating edibles. This can be temporary until you went through the drug test or you want to make the next puff of indica strain to be more enjoyable.
Fortunately, marijuana does not have any addictive chemicals like nicotine from cigarettes or even alcohol. These chemicals cause withdrawal symptoms among those who abstain from smoking or drinking, which makes it hard to quit them. Since THC does not cause withdrawal symptoms, abstaining from weed is doable.
While weed is not addictive by nature, you might have a problem in abstaining from it due to mental reasons. This is normal behavior since others share the same problem with foods that bring about the same level of pleasure to their system.
On the first day that you stop taking marijuana, clear out any peripherals that you use for consuming and place them in a box. This includes bongs, pipes, rolling paper, and your lighter. Spray your home or smoking area with air freshener to get rid of the weed smell to decrease the urge of lighting a joint.
If you start to feel that irritating crave swelling up inside you, look for ways to distract yourself. This includes doing some chores around the house like laundry.
If the cravings seem too strong, consider taking a walk or a short drive around the block. You just need to let the feeling of wanting a weed hit to pass. Do not worry, cravings will pass as quickly as they appear.
- Workout
It is important to note that your body stores THC in the adipocytes or fat cells. This is why people with more adipocytes will find it hard to fully remove all of the weed metabolites in their system. You can increase the rate of THC detox in your body by metabolizing or burning these cells.
Take note that if you want to burn fat in your body efficiently, you need to do more than just ordinary cardio activities such as jogging or walking around the block. To make your cardio work in targeting your fat cells, you need to do some high-intensity interval training or HIIT.
HIIT involves increasing the speed of your cardio for a brief period. When you are jogging,for example, you need to sprint or run for at around five to 10 minutes. Keep your pace steady for 30 to 40 minutes in between the short period when you increase your speed. HIIT cardio will not only use the calories in your body, but it will also tap into the energy reserves within the fat cells of your system.
Cardio may not be enough to really burn the THC in your system. Too much of it can also do your body more harm than good. Another way of increasing the rate of detoxing the weed metabolite within your body is to do some strength training.
This type of workout usually involves lifting or moving weights for a set number of times. Do not worry, you do not need a gym membership or buy any workout equipment just for the sake of THC detoxing. A good strength training exercise involves moving all parts of your body at the same time.
One example is to do squat slams. This exercise involves lifting a slightly heavy object from the ground while squatting. As you stand up, you move the object over had and slam it to the ground with everything you have. Repeat the process until you reach 10 or 20 counts. Med balls are usually the best equipment for this exercise. Other alternatives include a beanbag or bag full of cushion.
To help you with burning fat, here is a HIIT workout video that does not require any kind of gym equipment except for a yoga mat.
- Practice intermittent fasting
Apart from working out, another means of burning fat is to do intermittent fasting. This method involves setting a time when to eat and when to fast. The reason to practice this method is the release of norepinephrine from the nervous system.
This natural chemical enters the fat cells in your body and breaks it converts it into energy as free fatty acids. The process also releases the stored THC within the cells. Intermittent fasting will also decrease the amount of insulin within your system.
Low levels of insulin can further encourage your system to tap into your fat cells for energy.
Intermittent fasting has several methods of doing it. The easiest method of which is to fast for 16 hours a day while allowing yourself to eat during the rest of the eight-hour window. You can achieve this by eating only around 12 noon till eight in the evening. The eight hours of sleep counts as part of the 16 hours of fasting. Upon waking up, you can skip breakfast and only eat lunch as well as dinner.
Other methods of intermittent fasting involve not eating anything for two days in one week. You can make this easy for you by eating dinner for one day and take dinner again the following day.
- Regularly drink coffee or tea
As we mentioned above, diuretics minimize the concentration of THC. A good way of benefiting from this tip is in taking natural diuretics like coffee or tea. Taking two to three cups of either beverage will help you in detoxing.
You can further help your system in purging THC from your body by drinking detox tea like dandelion or green tea. These drinks encourage your liver in cleansing most forms of toxins such as the weed cannabinoid. In addition, both types of tea can improve your body’s metabolism. This can further help you break down fat cells to release THC from your system.
Tips in passing the drug test
THC detoxing can boost your chances of passing most drug test set by your company. You might be worried that the lab may still find something in your urine. In this case, let us help you in passing a drug test with these tips.
- Know when the test will be conducted and the type the company will use
It helps to know when you will be taking the drug test as well as which samples they will use to detect any marijuana usage. Both info can help you prepare for the test by detoxing as early as possible. If the test seems too early for you to remove most of the THC in your system, you can try to come up with legit ways in not coming to work on that day. This includes an unexpected family emergency.
- Urinate two to three times before the test
Do not use the first urine you have for the day to the lab test. Your urine will have plenty of THC when you wake up because the weed metabolites build up in your body as you sleep. Pee as much as possible before taking the drug test.
- Drink coffee, tea, or energy drinks
This tip ties in to the first one. Drinking natural diuretics will help you clear out most THC in your urine. These drinks will also encourage you to pee as much as possible before taking the test.
- Avoid using fake urine
You might be thinking that you cannot pass the test and decide to use synthetic urine. Unfortunately, trained professionals may know what to look for in fake pee. This includes little to no bubbles coming out of the liquid when shaken as well as the pH levels of the substance. You have a better chance of passing the test by buying someone else’ urine for the test as long as they are clean.
In addition, sneaking in a vial of synthetic urine in the bathroom might be hard if someone is checking your pockets.
- Use a drug test at home
To know if you will pass the drug test or not, consider buying a testing kit. You can find these kits at pharmacies or online stores. Kits that only test for marijuana is affordable than 12-panel tests that check for other dangerous substances within your body.
It pays to know what type of test you will be going through first and buy a kit that matches that drug detection method. If the company does not specify what sample they will use to detect drugs, pick a urine test kit.
This test is the most popular and cheapest means of the drug detection method. It also takes days or months for your urine to be free of THC. If you pass the home drug test for urine, you are likely to pass drug detection tests for hair, blood, and saliva.
Conclusion
By now, you have a good grasp of the different facts and myths surrounding THC detox. Workout, abstinence, and drinking natural diuretics are your key to purging the weed metabolite from your system.
