TheVoxFox Voice Tips: Maintaining a Healthy Voice Water, water, water! Drink it! All day, every day. Water has natural healing properties and is a sustainer of life. Eight to ten eight-ounce glasses may not be enough. To calculate the correct amount, take your weight, divide by two and drink that amount in ounces daily (64 ounces is a minimum). It’s best to drink some water half hour before meals and two hours after meals. Portion it out instead of trying to consume your daily requirement at one time. Don’t let your vocal folds suffer and your bodies dehydrate. Drinking water has many other positive health benefits. Hydrate for health! Note: Soda, coffee, tea do not count as water. Watch what you eat when you’re going to perform. Some foods, particularly dairy products may produce extra mucous which makes it more difficult to speak or sing. Know your body and how food affects you. Water always helps. No smoking! Smoke, even in second hand form may cause the vocal folds to swell and become irritated which puts extra stress on them when speaking. Stay away smoky environments. Beware of inhaling strong fumes. Strong odors from cleaning products and other chemicals may irritate the vocal folds. They can make you cough which can put unnecessary stress on the vocal folds. Beware of excessive coughing and clearing your throat. Coughing is very violent and too much of it can stress your vocal folds as can habitual throat clearing. There are times you can’t help it, but water can help. Hot sauce lovers beware! Hot peppers and hot sauces can irritate the vocal folds. Moderation is the key, but when consuming any kind of pepper products, make sure you have water nearby. Avoid whispering and yelling. These two extremes can put unnecessary strain on the vocal folds. If you must yell, make sure you use your upper body for support and don’t stress the throat and vocal tract.