Toot! Toot!

Coffee and tea have pretty much proven NOT to be dehydrating as long as you are drinking other beverages an hour before or after. Three cups is considered the max that you should have, however, (and we're talking old-fashioned cups not grandes and talls.) Caffeine might not be good with your current regime however, so check thoroughly, and remember that green tea has caffeine so choose decaffeinated.



As for the myth that bananas are binding....again, pay attention to what works and doesn't work for YOU, but extra-ripe bananas are considered beneficial, non-constipating.



If any foods have bothered your tummy in the past, or caused problems, remember to STAY AWAY from them during treatment because they could be even WORSE. Personally I have to avoid chocolate, wine, soy, processed deli meats, onions and more than 1/4 cup of beans. Over the holidays I have to remember that soybean oil is the base for a lot of pie crusts and pastries and crackers and cookies.

Idaho...what's the dosage of Cascara that you take? I'd never heard of Cascara so I started to research it.... Sloan Kettering website notes that the FDA calls it dangerous. On a naturopath website I found, it says that it should be taken in very small, few-times-per-day doses because a large dose would mean that it wouldn't work for you next time unless you continued to take larger and larger doses. It also said that it could cause miscarriage and should be taken with "calming agents".

Also note that it is considered helpful in keeping you regular, but is not advised if you are already constipated.

Anyway, be careful with this stuff....though there's nothing safe about anything else they're pumping into us, either, I guess! And all laxatives come with warnings about doses and about not taking them on a regular basis.