TikTok’s 3-Color Rule Actually Has Science Behind It

Rule of Three: Every once in a while, the TikTok kids get something right. One of the latest wellness trends making the rounds on social media is the “3-color rule,” which involves piling colorful vegetables onto your plate at every meal to boost weight loss instead of counting calories or macros. Yes, it may sound like another passing trend, but it draws on decades of research, some dating back to the late 1990s.

How to Do It: The hard part is keeping your fridge stocked with produce, so reach for some fruits and vegetables next time you’re at the store. After that, putting it into practice is easy: sprinkle blueberries and walnuts onto your oatmeal or add tomatoes and carrots to a salad of leafy greens.

The Benefits: Eating more colorful plant foods is a no-regret move supported by strong evidence from a 2022 umbrella review covering 86 studies and over 37 million people. Colorful plant pigments were linked to improvements in body weight and cholesterol. Carotenoids, found in red and orange produce like carrots and cantaloupe, were shown to affect waist size and total cholesterol. And flavonoids, common in foods like onions and berries, were tied to lower blood pressure.