Suggestions coming this week to help prevent & alleviate Vocal
Problems which can be caused by our habits in the food & drink
department!
1. The Larynx can be irritated by drinking alcohol & eating food too
close to bedtime, causing acid reflux & inflammation of the vocal
tract.
2. Carbonated drinks can increase stomach acidity leading to regurgitation
into the throat when burping, which can irritate the vocal folds.
3. Alcohol dehydrates the vocal folds impairing the way they function.
Avoid drinking alcohol before performing, & in moderation generally!
4. Caffeine in tea & coffee dehydrates the body & vocal folds; also
negatively affects the nervous system. Avoid consuming large amounts!
5. Smoking can seriously affect the singing voice by damaging the vocal
folds. Breathing is also undermined because of the damage to the lungs.
Follow us at Facebook and Twitter!
- Ross Campbell
Professor of Singing, Royal Academy of Music,
London
Director & Head of Singing, Musical Theatre
Ireland, MTI
Award winning Author for ABRSM Songbooks 1 - 5
1-to-1 Vocal Training & Consultations available
www.rosscampbell.biz
www.musicaltheatreireland.ie
www.rosscampbelluk.blogspot.com
I'd like to comment on a few of these, as they are commonly passed around as what one might call "received wisdom". I've long wondered why the diet and eating habits of Italy and Spain could possibly cause so much alleged damage to the larynx when those two countries have simultaneously provided so many great singers and teachers. Maybe some of our preconceptions about reflux should be challenged - both in terms of diagnosis of reflux, and whether or not reflux actually damages the voice in ways that we assume. The NHS provided guidelines last year (or possibly earlier) about the prescribing of proton pump inhibitors to treat reflux, or more accurately the careful withdrawal of them - a reflux free patient taking PPIs and suddenly stopping will almost certainly find themselves suffering from reflux that they didn't have at the beginning. Regarding the second point, the effects of reflux on the larynx, I'll refer you to someone who knows far more than me on this issue. http://voicedoctor.net/videos/laryngology-101-reflux-laryngitis
ReplyDeleteAs far as alcohol. coffee, tea, etc go - yes alcohol is a diuretic, it will cause you to pass more liquid than you consume in the drink. This will, in time, dehydrate all of you, not just your vocal cords specifically. The important thing is - time! That swiftly downed pint or glass of red in the interval of your choral society concert will not dehydrate your vocal cords. Unless you feel yourself drowning, it will have passed down a completely different route into your stomach. Caffeine can cause dehydration, but you'd seriously have to consume around 8 - 10 strong coffees to get the amount of caffeine that would register a reasonable dehydrating effect.
I agree completely with point 5.