Disclaimer: The following list is not intended to treat, diagnose, or prevent any disease or illness. Before taking any of the following vitamins, minerals, or herbs, I urge you to contact your physician for consideration and proper dosage.
I was asked many times if there were any “tricks” to keep your voice healthy. I do not think hard work and vocal awareness is a trick, but if you learn solid vocal technique and constantly monitor how you process your voice every day, you will improve. Another aspect to consider is vocal health. Under the "feeding" of your body with the right nutrients, you can maintain overall health. So I decided to focus this lesson on which nutrients best help in maintaining a healthy vocal apparatus. What I am going to present to you is an overview of my daily routine; my list of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other areas that I take into account to keep my voice healthy.
I should not say it out loud, but I might think that this is unhealthy. I had my tonsils taken off when I was 3 years old, due to continuing colds, and I was diagnosed with a rare skin disease at the age of 7 years. I could probably say that I had a few colds every year in my life, until I remember. This includes major colds for sinus infections, laryngitis, pharyngitis and bronchitis. This is due to several factors; my tonsils were not completely removed, and I have severe allergies. So, now I take 6 allergies per week and use water to keep my tonsils clean. Food can get stuck behind your tonsils and create a home for the spread of bacteria.
Before I started shooting, I already noticed that most of the singers I met (including me) were hypochondriacs! Singing can be mental, and people tend in their own way. Many times sore throat due to fear of speaking, but there are still times when you are really sick. When you are tired of the patient, especially when you are a vocalist, you will try something. So I decided to teach myself to be ready for a sore throat. I deeply read this topic and came up with my own mixture of daily supplements. I found what products need to be strengthened, replenished and rebuilt with a voice.
If you sing for hours at night, you will need to give your voice time to recover. First things - SLEEP FILM! Your voice is very sensitive, and when your body is tired, your voice will be the first to suffer. That is why when you are very tired, you feel too much work to talk. You may need 8-10 hours of sleep, especially after a long night. You want to be sure that you are well rested before you sing.
Singing, especially rock singing, takes a lot of physical energy. I also recommend some exercise program. If you want to sing in full force, you must be fit, as well as your voice. Cardiovascular exercises are best suited for a singer, preferably something like a jogging or Te Bo. Yoga and Tai Chi are great forms. Singing is a big part of breathing, and all previous exercise programs are focused on breathing.
I follow a certain diet every day. When I wake up in the morning, I drink 8-10 ounces of water. I keep drinking water all day. My daily water quota is gallon. It used to be more. The more you drink, the better. Your voice communications need lubrication to maintain their elasticity, and only water will do.
Every morning I take daily vitamin and mineral supplements. I also take an additional 1000 mg of chewable vitamin C, 1000 mg of calcium, 400 mg of magnesium and 25 mg of zinc. When your body gets tired or is under physical or mental stress, you will lose vitamin C and calcium. Both strengthen the immune system. When your body lacks vitamin C and calcium, the immune system is weakened and you risk a chance of infection. Magnesium helps the body maintain calcium. Zinc is a singer's mineral. Zinc helps reduce the swelling of the inflamed vocal cords, so I also take zinc cakes if I have a cold. Every morning I took a tablespoon of colloidal silver. I bought a colloidal silver generator from Sunstone Herbals. If you want to know about colloidal silver and its benefits, visit http://www.sunstoneherbals.com. But since then I switched to using the X20 water supplement from singerswater.com. This additive adds ionic silver, calcium and other important things the singer.
There are also a couple of herbs that I use every day. I take three capsules of 500 mg of licorice root. Licorice is a natural cortisone that will also reduce the circulation of inflamed vocal cords. You can choose some of your local GNC. Slippery Elm root is a great herb for singers. Slippery Elm soothes inflamed mucous membranes in the throat and mouth. The best source I found is a throat with the fingers of traditional medicine. I try to drink a cup every day.
On the day of the performance I set my water quota. I also perform at least 20-30 minutes of warm-up before singing. By the time I came on stage, I was driving everyone crazy, because I need to piss a lot! But hey, I can sing all night! I know this is probably unethical, but I also take 2 aspirins before I go on stage. Aspirin depletes the blood, so when I get blood pumping the vocal cords from all Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest and AC / DC, I do that any smoothing of the voice cord is minimal. Sometimes I suck on a cake too. I will use everything that contains vitamin C, bee propolis, zinc, apple pectin, slippery elm, licorice or glycerin. I stay away from any menthol based lozenges. Menthol dries the vocal cords.
Again, at the end of the night, I warm my voice by doing some exercises from my Vocal Stress Release program. Do some research and create your own daily routine. What works for me will not be useless for you. No matter what you do, if you try to live a healthy lifestyle (plenty of rest, water, nutrients), you will have a long vocal career. If you are really serious about singing, I offer these tips. Find a good vocal trainer and learn the right technique. If you are a smoker, QUIT !!! Smoke exacerbates cords and dries them. Alcohol is also another bad choice. Alcohol dries the vocal cords. If you are interested in more detailed information about vocal health, everything that we discussed in this lesson is discussed in more detail in my book, Raise Your Voice.
