Vocal Hygiene: The Best Drinks and Food to Keep You Hydrated

Life is pretty busy these days. It can be hard to remember to do everything we need to do, when it needs to get done; this unfortunately can often include giving our bodies the attention they need to perform. And not just perform in a performance aspect, but perform through everything our day throws at us.

One of the most overlooked aspects of keeping your body working at its peak condition is hydration. No matter what you do, it’s extremely important to keep your body hydrated. Dehydration can cause problems such as headaches, weakness, dizziness, nausea, dry mouth and more serious problems depending on the severity. Oppositely, being well-hydrated can reap some serious benefits such as enhanced energy levels and regulated moods, it can help aid in weight loss, keep your skin looking great and more!

If that’s not enough to convince you, as singers, hydration is important for us, not just for the above health benefits, but to keep vocal cords hydrated and your voice sounding clear and beautiful.

Below are the best drinks to guzzle down and food to chew (and their water content) to keep you and your vocal cords hydrated and ready to go all day.

Hydrating Drinks
You may think it’s common sense, but not all drinks are created equal. Singers should take extra care to stay away from dairy, alcohol, caffeine and other substances that can be potentially harmful to your voice (dehydrating, acidic or phlegm-producing liquids).

Water
This is a no-brainer. Water is necessary to live and the perfect way to hydrate yourself. It’s recommended to drink about six to eight, eight-ounce glasses of water each day. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times, and if it helps, add some lemon, a mixture of fruits or a little bit of portable flavoring with you to make drinking water a little more exciting.

Decaffeinated Tea
The caffeine in some teas can be more harmful to your voice than good. But drinking green and herbal teas with some honey or lemon is going to have major soothing benefits for your voice. Peppermint teas will naturally energize you while chamomile teas have a natural relaxing effect.

Warm Water with Honey and Lemon
An easy way to naturally hydrate and soothe your voice is by mixing some honey with lemon and warm water. A delicious twist on your normal water-drinking routine.

Hydrating Foods
If you’re hungry and could use some extra hydration, reach for some cukes to snack on. Cucumbers have the highest water content of any solid food; in fact most of the foods on this list would make a fantastic salad. Feeling dehydrated? Throw together a nice, big, refreshing salad and chow down!

Cucumber – Water content: 96.7 percent

Iceberg Lettuce – Water content: 95.6 percent

Celery – Water content: 95.4 percent

Radishes – Water content: 95.3 percent

Tomatoes – Water content: 94.5 percent

Green Peppers – Water content: 93.9 percent

Cauliflower – Water content: 92.1 percent

Watermelon – Water content: 91.5 percent

Spinach – Water content: 91.4 percent

Strawberries – Water content: 91.0 percent

So however you decide to do it, with tea, water or some juicy fruits, keep yourself hydrated all day long. Your body AND your voice will thank you for it!