Dairy is one of the most recognized “No-Nos” for singers. Consuming milk or cheese is known to cause the vocal folds to produce more mucus.
For most people, eating dairy products like milk, yogurt, ice cream or cottage cheese will create mucus, and should be avoided within a couple of hours before singing. For most, hard cheeses don't do that. Mucus coats your throat and makes it harder to sing.
Eat: Lean protein
Lean protein sources, such as chicken, fish, and tofu, can help support muscle health and provide a sustained source of energy. They are also rich in amino acids, which are important for maintaining good vocal health.
The best drinks before singing are warm drinks without caffeine or milk, warm water and herbal teas containing manuka honey, lemon and ginger are ideal. Warm or room-temperature water will hydrate your vocal cords, making them more supple and less liable to injury.
Foods to avoid include foods with high fat content, like fried or greasy foods, eggs, butter and other dairy products; and acidic meals like spicy foods, peppers, concentrated tomato dishes, vinegar, and citrus fruits. It's almost impossible to sing well while burping.
Food That Improves Voice
The best snacks, as a rule, are ones high in water content so also hydrating the vocal cords. Cucumber has one of the highest content of water of any food so it's perfect, watermelon and cantaloupe melon all contain over 90% water also thus making them great for snacking and hydration.
Since nutrients do not pass directly over our vocal cords, it is not the right approach that raw eggs clean and strengthen our vocal cords.
Honey can help singers recover quicker from strained, sore, and lost voices. But honey isn't just effective when you're ill; it can be used to prevent vocal problems too. Its thick, smooth consistency coats and lubricates the throat, providing relief to your vocal cords and voice after a strenuous performance.
The creamy texture of bananas can produce extra mucus and coat your throat, which leads to unclear vocals. The thickness of a banana will inhibit your singing ability and are best to be avoided right before your performance. Eating a banana is essentially the same as eating dairy before singing, both are bad news.
Dairy is highly inflammatory and it can cause acid reflux and excessive mucus in the throat, which can irritate the vocal cords.
Should singers avoid milk in general? Milk is bad for singers because it stresses your vocal cords. However, there are many health benefits to drinking milk, so we don't suggest cutting it out from your diet altogether. Instead, avoid drinking milk on rehearsal and performance days.
Dairy products rarely trigger asthma or allergic rhinitis. When they do, nasal symptoms usually occure with symptoms of allergy, such as severe hives (urticaria), throat or tongue swelling, or a drop in blood pressure.
Maintain adequate laryngeal hydration. Consume one-half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. Consume warm, non-caffeinated liquids during extended periods of voice use.
Vitamin A assists the vital organs, including the lungs, the powerhouse of the voice. However, too much of this vitamin can be toxic. It's also far more unusual to have a deficiency in this than others.
If you are going to consume fatty food, it is preferable to consume plant-based fats, especially for singers as they are more alkaline – these include nuts, avocado, coconut oil, hemp oil and olive oil. Food that is too acidic can hinder vocal cords and compromise performance.
Milk. When you drink milk, it increases the mucus in the back of the nose and throat. This can make your voice unclear and cause you to cough and clear your throat more often, which can damage your vocal cords.
Fruits containing large amounts of water are excellent hydration-conscious snacks, including apples, pears, watermelon, peaches, melons, grapes, blueberries, oranges, pineapples, plums and raspberries. These fruits are a good source of water that helps to keep lubricated the vocal cords.
Try sucking on lozenges, gargling with salt water or chewing a piece of gum. Stop drinking alcohol and smoking, and avoid exposure to smoke. Alcohol and smoke dry your throat and irritates your vocal cords. Avoid clearing your throat.
The best lubrication can be achieved by drinking plenty of water.” Bear in mind that, when we drink water, the throat is moistened, but the liquid doesn't contact the vocal folds. If it did, we'd gag. The water we drink has to be processed by the digestive system for that lubricating mucus to be produced.
The best drinks for your singing voice are water (especially room-temperature water, perhaps with a squeeze or two of lemon) and tea, but be careful about consuming too much caffeine, which can dehydrate you. You can find wonderful herbal teas designed for singers.
Choose Lemons Over Orange Juice
This makes it harder for your vocal folds to recover. Meanwhile, lemons are natural mucolytics, which means that they produce plenty of thin mucus that helps you develop a natural, beautiful, singing voice. Be careful with sucking on a lemon, however!