There are a lot of vocal myths out there.
Some have been passed down for who knows how long and some are simply due to a lack of information.
In this series of posts, we’ll explore some of the more popular myths and see if we can dispel or confirm what we have heard for years!
Myth #1
Honey and Lemon Tea is the magic elixir for washing phlegm right off of your vocal cords.
First of all, here’s one rare universal truth: If there’s something that’s part of your routine and you feel like it gets you the results you need, you go ahead and do that thing. It may be a placebo effect, it may be superstition, but just as with die hard sports fans, “it’s not weird if it works!”
Ok. To pick this apart, we first have to understand a little bit of vocal anatomy and one simple fact.
Nothing but air should ever pass between the vocal chords
No food, no liquid, nothing, should l ever go down that “tube” called the trachea. Why? It leads directly to the lungs, and air is the only thing that should be coming and going as far as the lungs are concerned.
There is another opening, the esophagus, which leads down to the stomach. This is the right direction for food and water to travel.
The epiglottis, a little leaf-shaped structure, actually closes over the trachea like a lid, preventing food and water from going down that opening and causing us to choke or cough.
So, if everything works correctly as intended, nothing you eat or drink will ever touch your vocal cords.
Often, we have images of this warm liquid running past the vocal folds and washing all of that “gunk” off of the cords, and the subsequent “golden voice” condition that we dutifully hunt for each day. Nope.
There is something in the swallowing action that some vocal instructors suggest is helpful to compact the tissue and cartilage and help us better strip the mucus off of the chords and clear it off.
When you have a sore throat or your voice isn’t feeling quite right, it’s often due to an overabundance of mucus that can be ether thin and sticky or thick and clumpy, or some version in the middle.
Now, think about it for a second. When you clear your throat, that gesture is always accompanied by a voiced or unvoiced “cough,” or an expulsion of air. Why? That’s because the mucus has to be removed from the cords, then extracted, either to the stomach (by swallowing), or spitting it out. It can’t go down into the lungs.
When singers swear by herbal tea with honey and lemon, it could be that that swallowing action and the warming of the surrounding muscles and tissues helps to better extract that gunk, thereby helping the voice to feel better, without clearing the throat in an abrasive and painful way that often generates more mucus.
Remember that this swallowing motion is also part of the bodies natural survival mechanism. The larynx raises, and tongue helps to direct liquid and matter to the stomach. When we sing, incidentally, this is part of the reason why it is so hard to get rid of tongue tension and a rising larynx. We’re wired to do that a for survival, and then we replicate a “swallowing” motion every time we sing. No wonder it’s so hard to get rid of that tension!
Some swear that the lemon juice thins the mucus and the honey then coats the cords, thereby again, eliminating the mucus in a non-abrasive and gentle way.
Now, much in the same way that Mucinex works, the herbal tea with honey and lemon, may indeed be absorbed in to the tissues and help to thin the mucus, and dehydrate the tissues a little, making it easier to clear it off. Studies suggest that Mucinex does’t actually help you cough up the mucus, but simply thins it for easier natural clearing, by the body.
Most likely, anything that we drink will achieve that same effect. Apple Cider Vinegar, Mucinex, and Honey and Lemon Tea will all help to thin out mucus for easier removal.
Remember that mucus or phlegm is the body’s natural lubricant, so we do need it in order for things to work properly. It’s when there is an overabundance or lack of mucus, that we start to feel that something is off.
In addition, it takes some time to hydrate the tissues of your body, so If you’re hoping for a few gulps of this stuff, then for an immediately improved and hydrated voice, that won’t be the case.
It can indeed sooth what feel like sore or dry portions of your mouth and throat, which may be what people feel when they drink it. In addition, as mentioned above, warming and relaxing those muscles in the neck and jaw area often feels relaxing and productive.
In addition, remember that lemon juice is one of the liquids that has a high probability for giving you acid reflux. This means that once that lemon juice is absorbed into the stomach and tissues, it may temporarily thin the mucus and help you feel better, but may also cause damaging acid that could put you right back where you started.
So! Just know, that the next time you forget your special herbal tea as you are headed to your audition, don’t freak out! A glass of warm water, albeit much less comforting and tasty, may do just the same thing.
