I was just listening to a brief interview with Kathryn Jenkins and the subject of "looking after your voice" came up. I couldn't find anything directly about food/drink here so thought I'd ask.
She (and one other) recommended Manuka Honey and a few other things such as pineapple, and also to avoid spicy food and milk.
I realise everyone's body is different (mine certainly is!) but it seems among the professional vocalist community there are some foods and drinks which are recommended or advised against, because they either affect the vocal chords or cause more mucous to be generated, or other reasons. Some I have heard may be bogus, for example I recently heard bananas cause more mucous generation potentially resulting in a croaky throat so should be avoided.
So my question is:
Which food or drink have an affect on vocals particularly, and what is the effect ?
I'll ask it that way rather than "what's good" because what's good for one voice mght not be good for another, eg a load of whiskey is traditional for bluesy/rock singers but I gather classical singers tend to avoid alcohol before a performance.
I'm a rock singer myself and I have good nights vocally and weaker ones when I have to play it safe. I'm wondering whether the cause of variation is food-based.
Edit: Note that I'm asking this for a fit, healthy person (usually able to sing, well hydrated, no illness like cold/flu as we all get time to time).
Thanks!