I’ve been sick for what feels like forever. The kind of sick where your voice ghosts you—and your patience does too. I could barely manage a whisper, which, depending on who you ask around here, wasn’t exactly a tragedy. But between the endless coughing and that miserable, foggy exhaustion, I finally caved and dragged myself to the store.
I wasn’t expecting a miracle. I just wanted something—anything—to take the edge off. So I grabbed a bag of cough drops, the same kind I’ve probably tossed into my cart a hundred times without thinking twice. But this time… I flipped the bag over. Don’t even ask me why. Curiosity? Desperation? A little of both? Whatever the reason, I looked.
Red 40.
Wait—Red 40? In cough drops?
And just like that, I wasn’t just sick—I was spiraling. Full-on, middle-of-the-cold-medicine-aisle existential crisis. Because I’ve seen the articles. The Instagram moms posting about dyes and food coloring and how it’s messing with our kids. But I always brushed it off. I don’t buy neon candy. I’m not chugging electric-blue sports drinks. I’m good.
Except… I wasn’t. Because if it’s in my cough drops, what else have I let slide? Juice boxes. Gummy vitamins. Fruit snacks. Even some of those “natural” cereals. All stamped with Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1—colors that belong in an art class, not a lunchbox.
And suddenly, it clicked. Maybe I wasn’t bouncing back because here I was, trying to heal… while literally dosing myself with artificial junk, all to make something look a little more “strawberry.”
That night, coughing and wide awake (now with a side of simmering rage), I fell into a late-night internet rabbit hole. And wow—I was not ready. These dyes? They’re not just for show. They’ve been linked to inflammation, allergic reactions, even behavioral issues in kids. Other countries slap warnings on them—or ban them altogether. Ban them. Meanwhile, here? We’re tossing them into snacks, cereal, cough drops—like it’s no big deal.
And the worst part? I’d never questioned it.
That tiny red ingredient feels like a siren I’ve ignored for way too long. I’m still sick, still sipping tea and coughing my way through the day. But now I’m also awake—and seriously fired up.
