Weight loss and digestive health have been tied together, and there are specific foods that can help with losing weight and keeping your tummy healthy.

There are certain foods that can help balance the bacteria and lower inflammation inside your stomach, and other fruit and vegetables that actually reverse the effect.

In research for her new book, Liz Vaccariello said she too was surprised by the amount of "healthy" foods we eat that actually bother our stomachs and help in packing on pounds, according to Yahoo.com.

Here is a list of food items that you should avoid while trying to slim down, or just make your digestive system function better.

Items like milk and high-lactose dairy foods contain FODMAPS, or rapidly fermentable carbohydrates, that can upset the stomach. Items like milk, regular yogurt, soft cheese or dairy-based dessert all contain FODMAPS and should be avoided while trying to lose weight.

The body has problems with digesting a fiber called fructan found in garlic, onions and cause flatulence. Fructan fiber can be found in grains, vegetable like artichokes, black beans, kidney beans and soybeans and all detract from a persons mission of slimming down.

We've all heard that saying, "too much of something is never good." Well, that goes for fruits, too. Excess fructose in apples, honey or asparagus can all cause stomach issues. Fructose is another FODMAP and compared to glucose causes gas, bloating and diarrhea when eaten in excess.

A 2008 study in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology found that patients with irritable bowel syndrome who followed a non-fructose diet had fewer symptoms. Some of the fruits and vegetables to stay away from on a daily basis are magos, watermelons, agave nectar and sugar snap peas.

Surprisingly, not all carbs are bad for weight loss. According to the author, there are carb-light and carb-dense foods: carb-dense foods like bagels and breads, mess with the gut, leading to an imbalance which triggers weight gain.

There can be tricks, like a "healthy" rice cake, but its actually 80 percent carbohydrate, making is an extremely dense carb. Other foods to avoid are pasta, crackers, cereal, pretzels and white rice.