If you are looking to soften up your stools a little bit, this is the perfect season. Try some cherries or strawberries. Many people say prunes are good, but for some reason I've always found these constipate me. However, they may react normally with you.

I've found that if I eat to much dairy (at least low fat dairy) or take too much calcium it causes big, hard, impossible to pass stools. So does eating too much red meat. Try some poultry, fish, or veggie dishes.

However, I'd avoid the "vegetarian" microwave dishes. They can either bung you up or cause the exact and painful opposite. Or worse, million wipers.

Besides, veggie microwave food (or any microwave food, for that matter) is not actually as healthy as it's touted to be. For one thing, they contain a horrible amount of chemicals that cause all sorts of trouble for bowels and bodies alike. Secondly, the veggie ones have a great deal of soy. Soy in small amounts is okay, but in large amounts can actually cause hormone imbalances because of the excess exposure to phyto-estrogen. They are also finding a high rate of Alzheimer's in people who consume too much processed soy. (It is actually becoming a problem in China and Japan for this very reason.)

As Motherload said, make sure you are getting a balance in your diet. Don't weigh too much on one side or the other. Have a balance of meats, veggies, and fruit. And never, ever, EVER do weird imbalanced diets like Atkins. They will bung you up horribly!

_______
If a man farts and no one's around, does he make a sound?

Oh my God, Shitty. Truer words were never spoken. Berry season can be the best thing that happened to anyone's colon. I think it's those little seeds.

_______
.....hugging bunnies since 1969
www.daphneszoo.com

Unless you have diverticulitus (sp?). My step-mother has that, and Oh. My. God! EVERY meal is a torture-fest of making sure there are NO seeds of ANY kind in the food. She won't eat at my home because she's afraid I can't cook her food correctly.

I feel the need to bake a ollalieberry pie. She can't eat that; anyone wanna come over? :)

You know, that's right! My gramma can't eat strawberries for that exact same reason unless they are the strained, jelly kind.

I remember now that she would go into exacting detail as to why. "Those little seeds, Missy, they get into the folds and irritate my bowels....." This was the same gramma that hacked up my poop. Hmm. Things are adding up now.

_______
.....hugging bunnies since 1969
www.daphneszoo.com

seedstrainers before, coathangers after...I do not envy Daphne's childhood.

It was a dark and stormy adolescence.

_______
.....hugging bunnies since 1969
www.daphneszoo.com

I've always drawn the line at eating certain types of berries with very large seeds. Not strawberries, but raspberries or blackberries.
The seeds get caught in your teeth and, in some cases, in your colon. For one thing, you can't really chew a blackberry or a raspberry without the seed problem. And when you swallow it whole, you aggravate the seed problem even further.

Pulling My Pants Down For Peace, Plop and Posterity!

What? No one likes bespeckled shits? I, for one, enjoy a good, seedy berry. Also, try sesame seeds. They make for a nice, white specked turd.

_______
Behold! My new farting super power! BRAPP!!!

Mmmm... blackberries. When they're ripe, they don't need to be chewed. Just mash it with your tongue and swallow the tart lump of anthocyanins, vitamin C and soluble fiber.
Unfortunately there aren't many good quality b'berry patches around my current residence.

Costco has 9 pounds of frozen blueberries for 10 bucks. They're huge and aren't covered with sugary syrup. I eat them all the time out of the freezer like a dessert.

And, there's no little seeds.

_______
.....hugging bunnies since 1969
www.daphneszoo.com

Really? I never noticed. Huh. I bet GoGirlie would eat smoothies for breakfast; she never wants breakfast. We always have bananas around for Go-a.k.a.-Monkey-Boy. Frozen blueberries would work great!

Thanks.

If you must eat fozen foods, try to find Kashi.

I think ML summed it up well, a balanced diet will work wonders for you. Don't forget to drink enogh fliuds as well.

The fluids, coupled with the fiber, will lubricates your digestive system.

What if your poops are so big they are tearing their way past the anus upon their exit and causing bleeding? It's been going on like this for some time and is quite painful. I've tried high fiber, but it doesn't really help.