Some of the more obvious foods to avoid as a singer are very common drinks:caffeinated drinks and alcohol.
These include coffee and tea and various popular soft drinks, which usually contain high levels of caffeine that can keep us awake at night or when we are tired!
Unforunately, these drinks also cause drynessin our throats as well as in our body, and this is not good for our singing voice.
Our vocal cords are very fragile,and they need to be moist in order to avoid the vocal damage that may occur with frequent singing, since the vocal cords vibrate at a very fast rate, and dryness may cause irritation to the cords!
ALCOHOL
Alcohol also causes constriction in the blood vessels in vocal tissue, causing areduction in vocal control.
WATER MIXED WITH LEMON
Drinking water with lemon mixed into it will also cause dryness in our throats and should also be avoided before a performance or singing practice.
SALTY FOODS
We should also try toavoid overly salty foods, because these ‘bad singing foods’ draw water out from our body and cause dryness.Heavily peppered or spicy foodsshould also be avoided because these cause irritation to our throat as well as our vocal cords, and may cause us to clear our throats more often, creating more discomfort in our voice!
SPICEY FOODS AND JUICE
Acid reflux(when our stomach acids flow back up towards our throat) is also a cause of throat and voice irritation, and it may be caused by taking too much spicy food, as well aseating a lot of food very late at night just before sleep.
When the food is being digested at night and we are lying down on our bed, this increases the possibility of acid reflux, and in serious cases, it could cause damage to our vocal cords directly!
Acidic fruit juicesalso increase the chances of acid reflux and should be avoided too, especially late at night before sleep.
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Many singers usually would alsoavoid dairy productsbefore a performance, for example cheese, yogurt, milk, ice cream and so on, or even common fruits like bananas. These ‘bad singing foods’ createexcessive mucus productionand may cause singers to have too much phlegm or mucus when they are singing.
COLD DRINKS
Generally, we should also try toavoid taking too many cold drinks, for health reasons as well as for overall voice care too. Cold drinks cause our throats and our voices to contract and stiffen, and this is not good for singing because we need our vocal cords and throats to be warmed up and flexible in order to be able to hit the various pitches that we sing!
Other bad singing foods includenuts and snack foods. If taken just before a performance, these foods may leave bits and pieces of remnants in the throat, and these bits of nuts or snack foods may cause excessive irritation to our throat when singing! It will also cause us to clear our throats more often, which is another cause of vocal abuse or damage!
FAST FOODS AND FATTY FOODS
For general health of the body, we should avoidfast foods and overly fatty foods. These may cause us to become overweight, putting more strain on our bodies and on our voice. These foods are also high in salt content and cause dryness in our body and throat.
Avoiding these bad singing foods will certainly help us to take better care of our voice, and reduce the chances of damage to our singing voices, thus increasing our vocal health!
GOOD LUCK SINGERS
