Quickie!! What’s to drink?

There’s all sorts of advice about what to drink for your voice, and when to drink it.  Here’s a little run-down:

Water:  The vocal folds are mucus membranes, which love to be hydrated.  Do consider the temperature of the water you drink during a performance.  I find room-temperature to be more helpful in keeping my voice comfortable.

Tea:  Brewed black-type teas are high in antioxidants  that reduce inflammation, so that helps with a sore throat.  Warm liquid is also soothing to irritated tissues.

Honey: Honey is full of nutrients, and combines well with the antioxidants in tea.  Find honey made in your home area to help with allergies.

Lemon: It’s acidic, and therefore cuts phlegm.  Not too much, though-remember these are mucus membranes. I put a little bit in a bottle of water for use during concerts.

Some folk are tea connoisseurs and insists on full-leaf tea for brewing.  That’s great for a terrific cuppa, but grocery store packages teas are all right.

While there are lozenge-type products on the shelf with lemon and honey in them, I would recommend using actual fruit juice, and honey from a jar (organic, from local farmers is best).

AND the milk thing:  drinking milk and eating dairy products  produces thicker (not more) phlegm.  However, phlegm is not a bad thing for vocal folds.  The lower fat the product, the less phlegm produced.  So unless you are sensitive to dairy products, milk before a show is fine.

And here’s some sites with good information:

http://www.voicecouncil.com/honey-lemon-for-singers-fact-from-fiction/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/483091-what-kind-of-tea-is-good-for-a-sore-throat/

https://www.authorityhealthmag.com/best-tea-for-sore-throat-you-can-use/

And some other myths https://www.operapulse.com/refine-your-craft/guide-to-opera-training/the-rules-of-singing-mythbusters-edition/

 

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