for those wanting something a little different than soy milk, i really like EdenBlend, which is a mix of soy milk and amazake (a brown rice milk) along with some seaweed nutrients.
all of Eden soy milk beverages seem to have seaweed nutrients, which is really good for you.
one of the dangers of soy is that too much for males will begin to turn testosterone into estrogen or something to that effect.....but you will have to completely eat a lot of soy - or maybe that is tofu!? i know one of those two has that effect on the male body if you have too much of it.

I drink a lot of soy, so that has been a concern for me, too, Gareth.
It would be nice to know how much would constitute too much for a male...

The book I have is "The Whole Soy Story" by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD. Subtitle is "The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food." I am afraid to read the book since I need calcium through foods, and soy works better for my digestive system than milk.
Here are some other tips listed in my Bottom Line Women's Health newsletter (www.BottomLineWomensHealth.com) as natural cures for constipation:
First thing every morning drink eight ounces of warm water with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to improve flow of bile, a laxative digestive fluid.
Sit on the toilet for two minutes at the same time each morning, even if you can't move your bowels, to help train your nervous system to go on schedule.
Avoid cow's milk, bananas and fried foods--eat high-fiber whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

beccy, you cold also replace some of the milk with yogurt. you can even mix fiber supplements in. i have had problems with dairy, but never with yogurt.
Also, I have never had problems with bananas. in fact, on some of my crampiest days, the banana actually helped relieve the tension--i think because of all the potassium.

I think bananas get a bum rap from too many fissure sufferers. I never stopped eating them and never saw any problems arise from it.
I think 90% of all common fruits and veggies are highly tolerable by most people. I think too many people want to find the answer in a bottle, container, or can, when nature has adapted us over hundreds of thousands of years for her own produce.
If you are eating 5-7 serving of fruits and veggies a day, ask oyurself if you really need metamucil or fibersure? Chances are you really don't, and you may be doing your fissure a disservice...

i think you're right for a lot of people Kim, especially people who could use a healthier diet.
My prob were different though. I had a very good diet to begin with, one like the CRS recommend--mainly veg, fruit, rice and fish. My desserts were fruits and yogurt. My usual indulgence was a single cookie.
All went well until one indulgent weekend when I ate too much meat and drank too much whiskey. After that, no fruits or veg in the world would help. What was fine and easy before became impossible to pass, and because of the pain, I would never pass everything completely. So I needed to start using MOM and mineral oil to keep everything soft and passed and bearable.
Even now after LIS, I still need to use fiber supplements to keep everything completely soft and passable. 40 grams a day seems to be my magic number, more if I have a big dinner.

Maybe we will all have good healthy arteries and good hearts while following good diets. Processed food is usually full of salt and sodium (and who knows what else). I like bananas also and bake my own banana bread. Quinoa is supposedly easier for some to digest than wheat products.
Cheryl

Quinoa was scratchy on the way out for me. I tried replacing my rice with that and it was not a good choice. It was yummy though.

I have used the Quinoa flour for baking bread and use the Quinoa pasta in stir fry with my zucchini and carrots.

Thank you for all the advice Even though it's only been a couple of days I'm feeling healthier in general...I'm drinking so much more water now I'm avoiding caffiene (not enjoying the headache withdrawal though!).
I'm so glad to here there's non-dairy cheese out there - I'm going to track it down for sure!
xxx