Plus, " Oats contain a fiber called beta-glucan, a powerful soluble fiber with many health benefits including reduced LDL cholesterol and reduced blood sugar and insulin response," says Michalczyk. Try starting your day with overnight oats , or keep handy instant packets you can buy plain instant oatmeal or look for flavored ones that are lower in sugar at the office to satisfy midday munchies.

View Recipe: Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal. Getting sick of oatmeal for breakfast? Swap it for yogurt , which is also great for your gut health and helps keep you regular. There's no fiber in yogurt, but the probiotics are super helpful to digestion, and you can add fiber by way of fruit try raspberries—they have close to 10 grams of fiber per cup or seeds.

Figs are an incredibly rich source of fiber. In fact, a study showed that among 40 people with chronic constipation, eating fig paste each day reduced intestinal discomfort and improved colonic transit time. Figs also contain an enzyme known as ficain , which aids in helping you poop.

Eat the tasty fruits plain, use them as a summertime pizza topper, or spread some on toast with cheese like burrata or ricotta. Feel free to nosh on healthy sweet potato fries when you want something sweet, salty and crispy for a snack. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber to keep your digestion moving.

With 8 grams of fiber per cup in mashed sweet potatoes, you can use some sweet potatoes as a starch when looking for something nutritious and slightly dessert-like.

View Recipe: Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Prunes aka dried plums are perhaps the best-known food remedy for constipation thanks, Grandma and for good reason.

Prunes contain both soluble and insoluble fiber to help you poop easier and add bulk to your stool. You can eat prunes as-is or you can sip on prune juice.

Five prunes or 1 cup of prune juice both deliver 3 grams of fiber. An apple a day might not always keep the doctor away, but it certainly improves your digestion. Apples are another great source of fiber, and in this case, a soluble dietary fiber known as pectin. There are 4 grams of fiber in one medium apple.

Don't peel off that skin—that's where a lot of the fiber is. View Recipe: All-American Apple Pies. Chia seeds are not only high in fiber, but they're also rich in protein to keep you full for hours.

They have almost 10 grams of fiber per ounce , which is pretty awesome. They are also a good source of protein and potassium," says Michalczyk. They're an easy add-in for a high-fiber boost to smoothies , yogurt or oatmeal. View Recipe: Berry Chia Pudding. Eating a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds is part of an overall healthy eating pattern.

These foods are also perfect for moving those bowels and helping you feel more comfortable. If you are unsure how to start, don't fret—our 3-Day Meal Plan to Help You Poop will give you some meal ideas.

As you get more regular, you can also check out our Healthy High-Fiber Recipes for inspirations. As you add more fiber to your diet, remember to do it gradually and drink plenty of water.

Moving more also helps get things going—start with these micro-workout tips today! Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising.

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Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. Special Diets High-Fiber Diet Center. By Isadora Baum is a freelance writer, certified health coach and published author of three books. Isadora Baum. The healthiest shape for poop is a long cylinder.

When poop takes on other shapes, it may indicate something could be going on with your digestive system. Ideally, your stool should be somewhere between firm and soft.

Normal poop is brown and comes in every color from tan to espresso. The brown color is largely due to bile and bilirubin. Bile is a yellowish-green fluid made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Bilirubin is an orange-yellow substance that the body makes through the normal process of breaking down red blood cells.

Through the digestive process, these fluids mix with your foods and usually make your poop brown. While brown is the most typical color, there are other colors we may see in the toilet. Black poop: There are a few reasons why your poop may be black, including taking iron supplements or a bismuth medication like Pepto Bismol.

But black stool can also mean that you have bleeding in your upper gastrointestinal GI tract. And if your poop suddenly looks like neon green playdough, the likely cause is artificial colors from drink mixes, bakery frosting or frozen novelties.

Red poop: There are dietary reasons why your poop may turn red — beets, cranberries, red gelatin or tomato juice. But red poop can be a cause for concern because it may mean you have bleeding in your colon — this can be a sign of colon cancer or digestive disorders. Bloody stool may look coated in red, or you may notice spots of red in it.

Malabsorption usually happens due to sickness, food intolerance or diseases that affect the intestinal lining. Pale or white poop: Chalky is not a good look on poop. It could be that you have an infection or that your bile duct is blocked.

Pale poop could also be a side effect of medicines, including some used for diarrhea. If there are white bits of a foamy or jelly-like substance in your poop, it could be mucus from your digestive system.

The most normal time to poop is in the morning after your body worked overnight processing your food. It should take just a couple minutes for you to have a bowel movement — certainly not more than minutes.

The truth is that everyone is different. The frequency of your bowel movements is usually only a problem if your stools are too hard or very runny.

Poop never smells like a bouquet of roses. But in some cases, foul-smelling feces happens when your body is unable to process gluten or other nutrients. The good news is that you may not have to. The Bristol stool chart categorizes the shape and texture of bowel movements into seven types.

But if you continue to have unhealthy poop types like constipation or diarrhea, you should talk to your doctor. Shape and consistency: Type 1 looks like smallish, roundish pellets that are surprisingly hard to squeeze out — especially for their size.

They typically look like marbles, nuts or berries. Normally it takes about three days for food to complete the journey through your digestive system. Constipation is usually caused by diet or lack of exercise. Other causes are a blockage in the digestive system and conditions that affect hormones such as pregnancy or diabetes.

Find out what causes constipation and how to get relief. Shape and consistency: Congrats! Type 2 poop looks like a lumpy log. What it means: If your number two is type 2, you probably have mild constipation. As with type 1, common causes can be diet, blockage and hormonal changes. Shape and consistency: Type 3 has a sausage shape with cracks on the surface.

It can look a little bumpy like a cob of corn. This type of bowel movement should slide out quickly with little effort. What it means: Hooray! Your poop is normal, and your digestive system is working the way it should.

This type is also easy to push out and should flush down in one piece. What it means: Way to go!