Beetle Juice

by Djehuty Ma'at-Ra

Unbeknownst to many individuals, when they drink certain beverages that have a reddish or dark orange tint to it, chances are they are drinking BEETLE JUICE or bug juice.

Have you ever heard of "cochineal" extract? Cochineal extract is used as coloring for certain beverages and certain women's lipstick.

However, what most folks don't know is that cochineal extract is derived from BUGS! Yes, that's right! BUGS! Consider the following:

Cochineal. Noun. 1 a scarlet dye used chiefly for coloring food; the dried bodies of a female scale insect, which are crushed to yield this dye; a similar dye or preparation made from the oak kermes insect (see kermes ). 2 ( cochineal insect) the scale insect that is used for cochineal, native to Mexico and formerly widely cultivated on cacti. Dactylopius coccus, family Dactylopiidae, suborder Homoptera. ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from French 'cochenille' or Spanish 'cochinilla,' from Latin 'coccinus' meaning, 'scarlet,' from Greek kokkos 'berry' (because the insect bodies were originally mistaken for grains or berries). Compare with coccus and kermes.

One brand that I know for sure that uses (or used to use) cochineal extract is Ocean Spray. This company used cochineal extract as a coloring in their Ruby Red Drink beverage. I don't know if Ocean Spray still manufactures this beverage, but it existed in the 1990s. When I found out that cochineal extract was derived from the cochinus (or coccinus) bug, I began calling Ruby Red Drink beverage: BEETLE JUICE!

A few cranberry juice beverages on the market also contained this bug as an ingredient it them.

And yes, ladies, some of your beloved lipsticks contain cochineal, so you very well may be smearing dried, powdered bug on your nice, luscious lips depending on what lipstick brand you use. If you really want to be sure that your brand of lipstick does not contain this particular bug, find out! Inquire! Investigate! Call the manufacturer and obtain the list of ingredients. In closing, folks, bugs do not belong in your body; and women, bugs don't belong on your lips (unless you consciously want them on your lips). If we don't become health conscious as consumers, there's no telling what may be in store for us; and Lord only knows what we have already consumed in our ignorance and unconsciousness.

We must become conscious to and about everything we are putting in and on our bodies, especially you women out there as women use a lot of products on their body under the pretenses of beauty and feminine health, hygiene, and sanitation.

Thank you for you reading!

This article is compliments of www.Dherbs.Com and Djehuty Ma'at-Ra

Additional articles by the author available @ www.dherbs.com/articles.