Maltodextrin comes from natural plant starches that are processed to produce either regular maltodextrin or resistant maltodextrin. Knowing the difference between the two types is important because each one has a different effect in your body.

Sugary foods like chocolate aren't your best choice for a snack before a workout. The sugar in the chocolate may give you a little boost, but it might be followed by a dramatic drop in energy. Plus, the excess sugar can really wreak havoc on your digestive system.

The natural fiber and phytochemicals in celery make important contributions to the health of your digestive system. One stalk of celery supplies 4 percent of the daily value for fiber, based on eating 2,000 calories daily.

Chocolate-covered espresso beans are a delicious treat that appeals to both coffee lovers and chocolate addicts.

A fruit and vegetable diet may not always focus exclusively on those two food groups, but it does use them to make up the majority of what you eat every day.

Avocado is a healthy food for women when eaten in moderation. This fruit is full of vitamins and beneficial fat that boosts your overall health. Avocado is easy to add to salads and sandwiches or to use as a spread on toast instead of butter.

Saccharin and aspartame are two artificial sweeteners that have been rigorously studied for their safety in the past few decades. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed that both saccharin and aspartame are safe, various consumer safety groups and health professionals disagree with this assessment.

A little sweet and a little salty, coconut water is a native drink to the Pacific islands. Not to be confused with coconut milk, which is made from coconut meat, coconut water is the juice from a young green coconut.

Food is fuel -- plain and simple. Through digestion, your body uses nutrients in food to give you energy, make repairs, create new cells and run all kinds of metabolic processes. Without proper nourishment, though, your body starts running on empty. Extreme fatigue is one of the key signs that you’re not eating enough.

While there's no special diet for someone with swollen fingers, what you eat may help reduce the swelling, depending on the cause. Anti-inflammatory foods may help finger inflammation, while limiting sodium may help lessen fluid retention.

Water fasting entails drinking only water. Juice fasting is more permissive, incorporating fruits and vegetables in juiced form. Water fasts offer no nutrition, while juice fasting offers some calories, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Both kinds of fasts should be conducted for short periods of time, if at all.

Oysters are a prized delicacy, and while you can eat them cooked, they are often eaten raw. If you have a stomachache anywhere from a few hours to a few days after eating raw oysters, you may require medical treatment. The stomach pain can be the result of an allergy or because of food poisoning.