What’s Really Hiding in Your Produce? And how to deal with it.
(For GOOD NEWS, scroll down to nearly the very bottom)
They’re not just slipping in a little junk here and there anymore.
Nope.
They are sneaking entire toxic ingredient lists into your food 🧪, spraying unpronounceable science experiments on your produce 🧬, and then acting like you’re the crazy one for asking questions.
AND THEN...
They slap a “safe” label on it...with zero long-term safety data 📉, no independent testing 🕳️, no transparency 🚫, NOTHING. Just a “trust us” from the same people who thought margarine was a superfood. 🧈💀
.
Like... am I supposed to just smile and say, “Thanks so much for that unlabeled endocrine-disrupting synthetic coating, Big Food. Please pass the fake butter 🧈 and genetically modified corn 🌽 while you’re at it”?
ABSOLUTELY NOT. 🙅♀️
💬 The FDA: “It’s safe.”
💬 Me: “Cool, show me the 10-year safety studies.”
💬 The FDA: “We don’t have any, but it seems fine.”
💬 Me: “Y’all... you said the same thing about trans fats, aspartame, and a dozen other things that we now regret.”
Make it make sense. 🧠❓
I'm not here for your science experiments 🔬.
I’m not here for your “edible coatings” 🍎🚫. And I’m SURE not here for your “trust us” PR campaigns funded by the very companies selling this trash. 🗑️💸
NO THANK YOU. ✋
My digestive system isn’t your testing ground 🧍♀️🧪.
My kids aren’t your lab rats 🐁.
And my apples 🍎 don’t need armor 🛡️.
By the way…. Can I ask...
🧁 Why is bread 🍞 not molding anymore?
🥛 Milk can stay “fresh” for 2–6 months!! How is that normal?? Do you remember pouring lumpy, spoiled milk 🥴 on your cereal 🥣 as a kid??
Like... you never forget that trauma. 😩
🍇 Let’s talk about why your fruit goes bad before you can even eat it.
Want it to stay fresh longer ➝ without mystery coatings or chemical grime?
🧼 Start with the washing.
Most people think it’s all about how you store your fruits and veggies and that’s a huge part of it. The Truth? Spoilage often starts before you even put them in the fridge 🧊.
✅ Apeel: Invisible. Uninvited. Everywhere. Even on organic produce.
✅ Pesticide Residue
✅ Dirt & Debris
✅ Fungal & Mold Spores
✅ Critters, Bugs & Microscopic Hitchhikers
✅ Synthetic Wax Sealants
✅ Chemical Film from Shipping & Storage
I’ve always been a water + apple cider vinegar 🍎 kinda gal... But “THEY” have upped the game ➝ so I had to level up too. 💅
That’s where Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak comes in clutch.
Plant-based. Powerful. And a total kitchen must-have.
This bottle of plant-powered brilliance 🌱 removes wax, dirt, and all the gross stuff that water and my lovely apple cider vinegar just can’t touch. I use less than a capful in a gallon or 2 of water. I set my fruit & veggies in a strainer and leave for a few moments, strain & rinse & air dry.
🧪 WhyYoung Living’s Fruit & Veggie Wash works (and why it’s way better than water or ACV):
➡️ Decyl Glucoside ➝ A plant-based surfactant that breaks surface tension and lifts off grime, wax, and pesticide residues.
🌱 Natural YES: This sudsy superstar is made from sugar and coconut, not petroleum. It’s gentle enough for baby shampoo but tough enough to lift pesticide residue and wax off your food. No drama. Just clean.
➡️ Citric Acid + Sodium Citrate ➝ Gentle chelators that help break down tough films and mineral deposits.
🍋 Natural YES: Not all citric acid is created equal. Some is made from black mold and GMO corn (hard pass)➝but not this one. Young Living’s formula uses plant-derived, non-GMO citric acid to gently break down surface grime without the gross.
➡️ Essential Oils ➝ Thieves, DiGize, and Purification blends = clean, fresh, and anti-all the nasty trying to seep into your digestive system via all your produce!!
🌿 Natural YES: These aren’t fragrance oils. These are serious botanical powerhouses➝like clove, lemon, rosemary, peppermint, anise, and citronella➝designed to fight the funk hiding in your produce.
➡️ Glycerin ➝ Helps dissolve oily residues and rinse clean without weird film or flavor.
🌾 Natural YES: Young Living uses vegetable-derived glycerin, not petroleum or animal fat. It helps lift the oily, sticky stuff off your apples and grapes➝then rinses clean without leaving any residue behind.
🥄 ACV is great for your salad and your scalp… but when it comes to produce, it doesn’t break down waxy coatings or synthetic preservatives the way this soak can.
🔬 Several oily mamas have done the “grape test” side by side with water, vinegar, and Thieves soak➝and the Thieves soak made the grapes actually feel like grapes again. Not weirdly rubbery or slick. Just juicy, clean, and snack-worthy.
🧼 What about pesticides? Here’s the deal:
🔬 Produce washed with surfactants + acidifiers (like those listed above) have been shown to remove up to 80–90% of surface pesticide residues➝especially the oily, waxy kind that sticks to apples, grapes, and cucumbers.
So yes, Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak absolutely helps.
❌ What It Can’t Remove:
Systemic pesticides
These are absorbed into the plant’s tissues during growth. They’re inside the cells, not just on the surface➝so no wash (not even boiling water or vinegar) is going to get those out.
Genetically modified or chemically treated seeds.
Again, washing won’t reverse what was done before the fruit grew.
This soak is a tool, not a miracle, but it’s a mighty good one.
Buying local or organic is still best when possible, but washing smart gives your produce the best chance at being clean, safe, and long-lasting.
🧐 What is Apeel? (And why should you care?)
Apeel is a post-harvest coating made from mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids➝and no, that does not mean it’s healthy just because it has the word “fatty acid” in it.
Let’s clear this up:
These aren’t omega-3s or healthy fats your body needs.
They’re highly processed emulsifiers, made by chemically modifying oils (usually soy, canola, or other industrial seeds) into shelf-stable coating agents.
The same type of compounds are used in:
🚫 Frosting and peanut butter (so they don’t separate)
🚫 Fast food buns and tortillas (to keep them soft for months)
🚫 Creamy junk foods (to mimic texture without using actual cream)
Now they’re rubbing that stuff on the outside of your produce.
YES, even organic!!
🫢 Here’s the problem with Apeel, it’s not just what's in it... it’s what it does.
Apeel coats your produce in an oxygen-blocking film, literally sealing it off from air.
Sounds smart, right? Keep oxygen out ➝ slow spoilage.
Except… that’s not all it slows.
❌ It also stops the fruit from breathing.
❌ It halts the natural ripening process.
❌ It eliminates key enzymes your body’s supposed to get from real, fresh food.
❌ It traps moisture inside, creating internal rot while the outside still looks “fresh.”
That’s why your avocado stays hard for two weeks and then goes brown overnight.
Why your bananas stay weirdly green.
Why your produce looks alive on the outside, but is nutritionally dead on the inside.
Those enzymes?
They're part of nature’s design. They help you digest food, absorb nutrients, and support your gut, brain, and hormone health. And they’re supposed to show up when fruit ripens naturally.
But when you coat it in a suffocating film to fake shelf life,
you’re not getting vibrant, living food anymore—you’re getting a waxed-up placebo.
It’s marketed as a way to make fruits and veggies last longer, but here’s the kicker:
❗ It’s applied to both conventional and organic produce
❗ It’s not required to be labeled in the U.S. unless you happen to spot a sticker
❗ And it’s darn hard to wash off with just water or vinegar
.
In short: It’s invisible, greasy, synthetic, and completely uninvited.
😡 Is it dangerous? “They” say no.
But let’s consider the source...
The same folks behind this say a lot of things are “safe.” Meanwhile, our food is more processed, less nutritious, and covered in more chemicals than ever before.
Apeel was backed by Bill Gates and others who openly advocate for population control. 🚫
(Yeah… let that marinate for a sec.)
There are zero long-term studies on what happens when you eat this stuff daily for years.
❌ No data on cumulative buildup
❌ No data and what it will do to our children.
❌ No independent research on digestion, hormone effects, or gut health
Just a whole lot of “Trust us.”
🛑 For me and my house?
That’s a big fat NOPE.
Keep your hands off our food!!
We’ll wash it, grow it, or peel it ourselves, thank you very much.
.
⚠️ Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak is one of the few natural options that can actually help strip it off.
Why? Because:
✔️ The surfactant + citric acid combo breaks down the sticky emulsifiers
✔️ The essential oils (like lemon and peppermint) are lipophilic, meaning they dissolve grease and film
✔️ The results? Produce that feels, smells, and tastes like food again➝ not rubber
We cant stop them from adding it, but we sure as heck can get it off and not consume it!!
👩🔬 Bonus Tip: Double Soak That Produce
If you’re dealing with thick skin or Apeel, do this:
Soak in Thieves Fruit & Veggie Wash for 2–3 minutes
Scrub gently with a soft veggie brush
Rinse thoroughly
Repeat the soak for 2–3 more minutes to really break down that synthetic film if needed.
💡 Kitchen Tip:
Wash your fresh fruit and veggies the second you get home. Toss it in a soak (just 1 oz per gallon of water), let it sit for 2 minutes, rinse, and dry.
This one step:
✔️ Extends freshness
✔️ Keeps your family safer
✔️ Makes you actually want to eat your veggies
.
HERE IS THE ONE I USE:
🧴 Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak
🛒 17.5 oz bottle = over 14 gallons of produce soak
💰 Loyalty Price: $21.75
🚫 No synthetic junk, no endocrine disruptors, no weird aftertaste
🗂️ Item #: 48374
💧 We even make a smaller spray bottle version for when we’re out and about!
***** THE GOOD NEWS!! A few fabulous stores DO NOT use these coating compounds!
SPROUTS, WEGMAN’S, PUBLIX. KROGER, COSTCO, TRADER JOES
👇 Are you already soaking in Thieves?? Did you know it removed, like allllll the things?? Was this the reminder you needed??
Who’s grabbing a bottle (or two)?
Why YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS?
Coming back from convention & telling people about it, I realized two things when talking about YL.
1️⃣ - I called it MY company. It is my company!
♡︎ It's my company along with hundreds of thousands other Brand Partners that run this business.
♥︎ We are independent - but we are not alone. We are resources for one another.
♡︎ Each of us are part of representing the #1 essential oil company in the world.
♥︎ Each of us are running a small business - We all have different reasons for doing so. We each have different goals, dreams and plans for success.
♡︎ We run our businesses' differently from our friends that do it too. But - we are all part of one community of like-minded, caring and loving individuals.
♥︎ We are different genders, nationalities and religions. We are from all over the world.
♡︎ We are all here to serve anyone and everyone that sees the want & need to Make A Shift in the health and wellness of themselves and their family.
2️⃣ - We are far beyond an Essential Oil Company.
᪥ We are innovators, explorers and change makers.
❀ We offer products that change lives.
᪥ We are here to help you find non-toxic, chemical free and plant based alternatives to cleaning your home.
❀ We develop Supplements and dietary products to support your whole body.
᪥ We leave no one in your family out - your babies, children and your pets.
❀ From the items you use on your body, put in your body and around your home - we have it. And it's all researched, developed and created with our Seed to Seal promise (ask Google about that😍).
᪥ And yes, we have the most incredible Essential Oils to make you smell good and feel good.
If you got this far - thank you! See you soon!
From the living room, kitchen to disposables, here are our top 10 tips on how you can Thieves-ify your home! Cleanse your home the natural way or relax to a warm, cozy scent with Thieves blend – 100% toxin-free and safe for your family!
1.Give your carpets a redo. Mix 1 cup baking soda with 5 drops Thieves, sprinkle over carpets, let sit, and then vacuum well.
2. Diffuse in the kitchen after every meal for a warm and welcoming air freshener.
3. Place 2 drops Thieves and 1 drop Raven on a cotton ball and stash it inside trash cans to fight unwanted odor.
4. Banish odors and remove stains by adding a few drops of Thieves on a small towel and using it to free the gunk from counters, whiteboards, desks, and other surfaces.
5. Pour approximately ¼ cup of baking soda and 5 drops of Thieves directly into the toilet bowl. Stir with a toilet brush and let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes before cleaning.
6. Cozy up with fresh clothes. Add a few drops of Thieves to a small hand towel and place in the dryer with your wet clothes for a refreshed batch of laundry
7. Add 10 drops of Thieves and Epsom salt to your bathwater on cold nights to stay extra warm.
8. Combine 1 drop of Thieves with 4 drops of carrier oil for an invigorating foot massage.
9. Add a few drops of Thieves to a basin or bowl of warm water and cover your head with a towel for a rejuvenating steam facial. It’ll help you breathe easier too!
10. For a relaxing evening, diffuse 4 drops of Thieves, 4 drops of Stress Away, and 1 drop of Lemon.
Thieves Spray
Unravel the captivating history behind Thieves Vitality essential oil blend! Young Living Founder D. Gary Young crafted this potent combination of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils based on the story of a band of thieves in 14th-century France. The thieves, who were European perfumers and spice traders, applied oils before robbing the dead and dying. When captured, they exchanged their secret for leniency. Today, Thieves is the first essential oil blend to undergo scientific evaluation at a university research laboratory. Its warm, spicy scent and support for overall wellness and the immune system make it one of Young Living’s most popular proprietary blends.
YL TESTING
Why We Love Young Living!
”While we trust, we still test”
Young Living is the leader in not only the farming and distilling practices, but we are way ahead in the science department as well. The Lab in our new Global Headquarters is unlike any other in the world, and certainly no other essential oil company can even come close. Young Living is committed to purity and quality. They have always put product ahead of marketing and selling. We have specialized equipment including specialized GC Which Gary specially made for us because he didn't just want to see dozens of constituents, he wanted to see HUNDREDS of constituents!!!! And most constituents that we can see because of our special testing equipment don't even have names... and this is why YL has THE MOST extensive library for essential oil constituents!!!
Ok, I went a little crazy there, but guys this is SO important. The world of testing can be SOOO convoluted and misrepresented. Testing natural products is unlike testing synthetic and MOST scientists are taught and trained solely on synthetic. Then, they get hired by companies who say they have natural products, an yet they are using profiles that were not resourced from 100% natural products.
Lets just talk about one specific area, we have an HPLC machine that tests liquids which is especially important for testing Frankincense... this is SUPER important. Boswellic acids are heavier compounds that GC doesn't pick up. So that's how we proved that our Boswellia Carteri and Boswellia Sacra DO have Boswellic Acids back in the day when another company was saying that we added Boswellic acids to our Frankincense.
AND because we also do optical rotation tests with our optical rotation testing equipment, Young Living proved that Boswellia Carteri and Boswellia Sacra were IN FACT two different species when the entire Botanical world even over in the Middle East where the various Boswellia species grow thought they were synonymous.
Yep!! Gary found a difference that no one else did, and no one believed him for a long time! YL publishes a paper on this... it's on PubMed.gov. The BC and BS molecules look identical. HOWEVER, one rotates left and the other rotates right.
It was YOUNG LIVING who discovered these things. OUR mission and vision is so focused on our EOs. That is who we are! The WORLD LEADER in Essential Oils!
So, here is the list, and a short description of our testing.
No, I didn’t compile this list, I keep it on hand so that I can send it out when people ask. There are SOOOO many tests done and the equipment is absolutely incredible
Viscometry- shows how viscous a liquid is (think vetiver versus lavender)
Densitometry- picks up water from distillation
Refractometry- measures how much light is bent Polarimetry- sends a beam of polarized light thru oil to see the rotation
ICP- MS( Inductively Coupled Plasma mass spectrometry)- measures metal in oils
ICP- OES (Inductively couples plasma atomic optical emission spectrometry)- also measures metal
Gas Chromatograph- pulls apart into all compounds present and uses high heat
HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatograph- similar to GC but uses a high pressure liquid
FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy)- Measures chemical bonds between compounds
Automated Micro-enumeration- Counts bacteria in a sample
Disintegration Testing- measures how quickly a tablet disintegrates
PH- measures how acidic/basic a product is
Flashpoint-point at which it ignites
Microscopy- looking at compound thru the microscope to identify
Combustibility-measures how easily a substance will set on fire, through fire or combustion
According to Mike Buch, these are all the normal tests that YL runs on all oils and products. The new test they are starting to add is Chiral Chromatography. This test separates optical isomers and determines organic compounds from inorganic compounds. The other new test they are starting is the IRMS (Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry). We have 2 of these machines and it takes 2 years of intense training to be able to use them. This test measures all oils to make sure they have the same ration as the atmosphere.
Mike Buch also has talked about the amount of training any of his scientists need to go through even before they are allowed to start working with the equipment. It is YEARS before they are really trusted to “read” the results. Dr Michael Buch has said often that the problem with so many other companies, is that the amount of experience of the people who READ the test results have is to little. It takes EXPERIENCE (remember yesterday’s post about 25+ years??) to read the nuances of these reports.
OK, I know this has been a LOT!! And not nearly as fun as some of the other posts, but guys, I can’t even begin to express how important this topic is.
This is a really old video, but I think you can hear in Gary’s voice how important testing is to the Seed to Seal process!
https://youtu.be/j80j-6bnIQw
