Whether you're taking a drug test for professional or personal reasons, a false positive is something we want to avoid. Over the years, I've been asked several times if testosterone boosters can cause a false positive. So, I finally decided to dig my heels into research to find out. Let's see what I found out below:
Anabolic Steroids and T-Boosters
Before we get into it, let's look at a product the booster is often mixed up with, Anabolic Steroids. Although these products are often confused because they have similar functions, they aren't the same, and we need to understand that before diving into the false positives.
Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of testosterone introduced into the body to restore low levels of the hormone. This prescription-only drug mimics the effects of natural testosterone and comes with high-risk factors and side effects.
Testosterone boosters, on the other hand, are OTC supplements (that usually come in the for of pills) that use a combination of natural ingredients to boost testosterone production naturally. T-boosters are considered safer than anabolic steroids because they do not contain synthetic hormones and are less likely to cause negative side effects.
The Urine Test
Urine tests examine a person's urine to evaluate their overall health, diagnose medical conditions or find the presence of various substances, such as drugs, in the system. Usually, drug tests look for substances like methadone, methamphetamines, and barbiturates.
However, a few tweaks in the testing procedure allow urine tests to pick up anabolic steroids and similar substances as well. So, since steroids are picked up on a drug test, does this mean that testosterone boosters also test positive? The answer is both yes and no.
Most boosters have a low chance of causing a solid positive result on urine tests because it's natural, and the body absorbs the ingredients in its formulas quickly. However, a false positive might appear if the booster contains certain trigger ingredients and is taken shortly before the test is conducted.
Why Do They Cause False Positives?
I mentioned earlier that certain testosterone-boosting ingredients could cause a false positive in drug tests. This is because they are identical or similar in structure to prohibited substances. The similarity in structure is often formed after the ingredient has been consumed. The false positive can also be triggered if the ingredients are derived from the same source as the banned substance.
Problematic Ingredients
B-Complex Vitamins
Some brand manufacturers source the vitamin from hemp seed oil, which can appear as THC in urine tests. The FDA states that high vitamin B7 (biotin) concentrations in the body can also cause a false positive result.
CBD and Hemp
CBD and hemp are derived from different parts of the marijuana plants, so traces of THC is bound to be floating around. Even though THC can't actively produce hallucinatory properties in small amounts but it can show up in urine drug tests.
Coca Tea
Coca-tea can leave cocaine metabolites in your system after consumption, causing a false positive for cocaine in a urine test.
What To Do About It
The obvious solution would be to completely avoid boosters that contain the ingredients I've mentioned, but that can sometimes be hard when you've been using a booster for a while and enjoying its benefits. To avoid a false positive in this case, I suggest not consuming the booster for a couple of days before a scheduled drug test to eliminate the chance of a false positive. If drug tests are spontaneous, you should opt for a different testosterone booster that does not contain trigger ingredients.
Conclusion
A false positive on drug tests can cause upheaval on all fronts of life, so it's essential to follow due diligence to avoid the possibility, especially when taking supplements like T-Boosters. The false positive stamp can be easily avoided if you opt for OTC T-boosters in which the formula contains no problematic ingredients.