Last Alternative wrote:Remember milk causes mucus = bad for singing!
Except that milk also "coats" the vocal chords = Good for singing.
Early on in my career, I used to eschew milk on the day of a performance because if I had milk it made me choke a little when singing very high upper chest voice notes. However once I reintroduced milk back into a daily diet of a singing day, it helped me transition into the "blend voice" ( a blend of chest and head voice) far far easier. Silkier tone, better voice.
I'm not advising drinking milk and then immediately vocalising, but it's not the bad-boy some people make it out to be, and as said, I've found it beneficial. I'm friends with another professional opera singer who swears by a huge bowl of Greek Yoghurt every morning.
But this comes back to the physiological variables of people's voices I spoke of earlier. Some of this stuff you need to experiment with - within reason - and find what works for you best. I find having a bottle of water in the middle of a session helps, and certainly hydrates me. But drinking while singing can create long term issues with the epiglottis closing improperly.
Just get the knowledge you can - from voice doctors, voice coaches and other singers - try and do as much stuff "right" as possible, and see what works best.