If you are a person who is interested in developing an appropriate diet for health living, there are three items that you should include in your overall eating regimen: -- vitamins -- nutritional supplements -- water The foundation of a diet for healthy living needs to be appropriate food choices. You need to eat an appropriate balance of fresh fruits, vegetables and low-fat meat products. You need to avoid food items that contain trans-fats as well as refined, processed sugars. Once you have established the appropriate menus for your overall plan for healthy living, you will want to consider how vitamin and other nutritional supplements can support your food selections and choices. It is vital to keep in mind that vitamins and nutritional supplements are not designed to replace healthy food choices. Rather, these products -- as the moniker “supplement” indicates -- are designed to supplement your basic, healthy food choices and selections. Along with proper food choices and the addition of vitamins and nutritional supplements, drinking an appropriate amount is absolutely necessary to maintaining an appropriate weight and to pursuing a healthy diet, a diet for healthy living. As a general rule of thumb, an adult who is not significantly overweight should consume eight 8-ounce glasses of water each and every day. (Soft drinks, coffee, milk and other beverages are not to be utilized as part of the total water intake amount. However, some herbal, decaffeinated teas can be used towards your overall water intake count on a given day.) A person who is overweight will need to consume more water. Some experts suggest that (in addition to utilizing vitamins and nutritional supplements) a heavier person should take in not only the base eight glasses of water daily but should also drink an additional 8-ounce glass for every ten pounds he or she weights over and above his or her “ideal weight.” Of course, if a person is morbidly obese, there is a line of water consumption that cannot be crossed. You can only consume so much water -- however, you do need to bear in mind that the more you weigh, the more water that you will need to drink each and every day. Finally, in addition to using vitamins and nutritional supplements to enhance any workout or exercise regimen that you include in your overall healthy living plan or scheme, you need to increase your intake of water when you do exercise.