Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohols contribute fewer calories and have a lesser effect on blood sugar levels than other types of sugar. According to Yale-New Haven Hospital, this is because your body converts them to glucose more slowly.

Eating may be the furthest thing from your mind after having your appendix removed, especially if you've been experiencing abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea prior to surgery. An appendectomy is usually performed because your appendix has become infected or burst open.

Eating foods that contain saponins, a group of chemicals found mainly in plants, may help you lower your risk for high cholesterol and cancer and help you control your blood sugar, according to an article published in the "Journal of Medicinal Food" in 2004.

While glucose is the fuel for your body, consuming it in syrup form isn't going to boost your energy levels. Like other forms of sugar, glucose syrup is simply an added sweetener. It's OK to include small amounts of food that contain glucose syrup in your diet, but too much may lead to weight gain.

The colon, or large intestine, has the significant role of processing waste in the digestive system to enable healthy and easy bowel movements (See Reference 4). Poor bowel movements are symptomatic of an unhealthy colon, which may be attributed to poor diet as well as environmental toxins.

Sodium cyclamate is an artificial sweetener that's 30 times as sweet as sugar. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned it in 1969 due to concerns about its safety after an animal study showed a potential increased risk for cancer.

Two important aspects of a healthy diet are quality and quantity. If you are eating all the right foods and still having trouble losing weight, you might be suffering from "portion distortion," a condition in which you have lost the ability to determine the normal portion size you should be consuming.

Date fruits, also called date palms because they are the fruit of the palm tree, come in a range of colors, from golden brown to black. Medjool is the most common variety of black dates. This type is prized for its rich taste, large size and velvety black-brown color.

Raw vegetables are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet, so don't be afraid to include salads or carrot sticks in your meal plan every day. That said, all foods are prone to contamination, and veggies are no exception.

Grapefruit provides significant amounts of vitamins A and C and is relatively low in calories and low on the glycemic index, making it a nutritious fruit choice for diabetics.

Made from bark of the birch tree, xylitol is a sweetener that gives many sugar-free foods their sweet taste. Because most Americans eat far more sugar than what's healthy, choosing foods that contain xylitol allows you to cut your sugar intake without having to give up all of your favorite foods and drinks.

While you more often hear about the struggles involved in weight loss, putting on pounds requires a concerted effort, too -- especially if you don't naturally gain weight easily.