Things to drink to keep voice healthy... — Page 2

It's actually a myth that fluids like warm tea, water, or the soothing liquid from mints or lozenges, directly bathe the vocal chords. While these liquids may coat and comfort the pharynx, or throat, they never touch the vocal chords. The vocal chords are the final valves that close to protect the trachea, bronchi, and lungs from foreign substances.

It's important to keep the salivary glands working, which will help the mucosa of the throat (pharanx) stay lubricated. The best things for this are fruit breezers, gummi bears or Grether's pastilles. Don't use anything with menthol, and avoid anything that numbs the throat.

Water is the best thing to drink because it keeps the entire body hydrated, thus assisting all mucosal tissue. Proper technique is what's going to keep a voice healthy, not what you drink.

Updated On: 7/5/07 at 05:37 PM

I forgot about Grether's Pastilles! I haven't used those in months.

And now I need to go order some!

Ebersole and Moore both do the 100% apple juice, but they mix it with water (1 part juice, 3 parts water is a good amount). tea with honey, lemon are both good as has been said.

and it can't be said enough: lots of water. avoid alcohol.

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Erinrebecca hit it right on. Remember, the only liquid that reaches your vocal chords is that deposited from your blood. Water doesn't go into your lungs (at least I hope not!), it goes down your esophagus. So, if you're worried about keeping your chords in tip-top shape, all that's going to help is lots of water.

Still, the comfort of the throat is also incredibly important. The key, as most have said, is to stay away from hots and colds. Hot liquids strip the throat of the mucus lining. When you drink cold liquids, the body immediately attempts to warm the tissue of the throat which causes the vessels in that area to swell, thus creating a smaller passage than normal.

I've heard of quite a few singers using cool-mist personal humidifiers. That's basically the only safe way to get hydration to the vocal chords in a direct/immediate manner. When you drink water, you have to wait for the body to process it before it does any good. However, the cool mist hits them directly. But it is important to note that hot-mist (steam) humidifiers can burn your vocal chords and also heat the throat more than usual (again, causing the mucus lining to melt away).

Consequently, this thread brings to mind one of my most repeated reads, "Great Singers on Great Singing" by Jerome Hines (see link below). In it, 40 great opera stars talk about not only their experiences and technique, but also their daily rituals before performance. It comes highly recommended, here!


Great Singers on Great Singing

1. herbal teas with honey
2. ALOT of room temperature water
3. throat coat tea with honey, alot of honey (it's gross, but hey it works)
4.more room temperature water
5. use a humidifier at night it moistens your throat

avoid...
dairy and alchohol
caffiene, it drys out the vocal chords
foods that are acidic (tomatoe sauce, spicy things, etc.) or particularly greasy, because these can cause reflux which is very bad for the chords, or foods that are EXTREMELY hot or extremely cold
cold water is traumatic to the vocal chords, drink it in small amounts if you absolutely must have it and follow with room temp water

AND my personal favorite, don't talk or sing unless required, rest is very relaxing to the vocal chords, and warm up religously and get alot of rest. I promise if you do all of this and use good singing technique you will be in like, cadillac vocal shape.

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Updated On: 7/6/07 at 12:14 AM

always water. when i crave something other than water, its warm tea with a lot of honey. stay away from lemonade, iced tea, & OJ. people believe its good for the voice, but in actuality it just creates flem, ick!