Should You Be Avoiding Eggs Before A Drug Test?

Unlike most tests in life, it's pretty darn easy to pass a drug test, Just keep yourself clean and you should have no problem, right? While that may be the case most of the time, there have been times when drug tests have been "fooled," showing up positive despite there being no actual traces of drugs in the sample.

Many medical establishments, such as MyMichigan Health, explain that the presence of common foods and drinks can interfere with the results of drug tests, such as a urine test. For many urine-based drug tests, certain dietary restrictions are put in place in order to ensure that the most accurate results can be collected. Clean and Healthy Me, a website focused on selling and operating drug tests and drug test-based questions, tells us that it's best to keep hydrated with certain drinks like cranberry juice and water and to avoid strenuous exercise or secondhand smoke before taking a drug test. Certain medications can also give a "false positive," so it's also suggested to avoid taking any medicines before your test unless prescribed otherwise by a doctor or the attending medical professional. When it comes to drug tests, your diet can either help or wrongly implicate you.

One such food that some claim can cause a false positive in your drug test is actually incredibly commonplace – eggs. Just what is it about eggs that can cause a false positive drug test?

According to The Daily Mail, British professional boxer Conor Benn failed two separate drug tests in October 2022, leading to the cancellation of Benn's scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr. Benn insists, however, that the results of the drug test are not from Benn "doping up," but a reaction from Benn's extreme diet of eggs. It's claimed that Benn eats between 30 to 34 eggs a week (via Boxing Social), which he states is responsible for the false positive on his drug test. But just how true is this claim?

A 2019 study from the World Anti-Doping Agency did investigate a similar claim, studying hens. The birds were given the drug clomiphene and the study found that it was possible that "minute" amounts of the drug can be passed on from the hen to the egg and then into the human body. This would only mean that chickens who consume clomiphene (and presumably any other drug) would be the only ones whose eggs would carry any sort of drugs at all. It would stand that hens who aren't fed such drugs would lay "clean" eggs, which would have no traces of any synthesized drug at all.

While eating eggs before a drug test wouldn't necessarily make the test come up positive, where the eggs are sourced and the condition and treatment of the hen who laid them that could possibly have an impact.

You may remember the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine continually tests positive for opium after eating a poppy seed muffin. While the idea of Elaine struggling to unravel the mystery of why her employers think she's an opium addict does make for good comedy, can poppy seeds really trick a drug test into believing you're on opium?

The USADA tells us that while poppy seeds certainly aren't anywhere near being able to get you high, the seeds still come from the poppy plant and can contain traces of opium. How much opium these seeds contain can depend on how well the seeds are cleaned and processed and how they are harvested. National Drug Screening, Inc. does admit that it is entirely possible to fail a drug test should you have consumed a poppy seed product, but it depends on the type of drug test used. If the drug test is oral instead of urine-based, for example, the test may not show any traces of opium from the poppy seed at all. It all depends on how "sensitive" the test is.

Even if you do eat a bunch of poppy seed bagels, you may not get high, but there is a slight chance that you may get flagged for opium use on your drug test. If you have a drug test coming up and don't want to risk it, maybe just order a plain bagel and a coffee instead just to be safe.