Texas Roadhouse is known for its down-home recipes and large portions, but many diners admit they only go for the iconic rolls. While patrons dream about a bread basket hitting the table, health officials claim there’s a sinister truth behind the gesture. The pre-dinner bites are tricks to get diners to order more food. That’s because they’re eating highly-processed, sugary bread that spike blood-sugar levels and send them crashing, making some people feel hungrier. Diners are provided with rolls that are baked fresh every five minutes and paired with a generous amount of special cinnamon butter. Just one roll contains 227 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 28 grams of carbs. That might not seem like much, but the numbers add up when you have two or more. While the butter — made mostly of fat — should counteract the insulin spike, diners typically consume more bread than butter. When you eat rolls before dinner, your body continues to crave more carbs, and you order dessert after feasting on steak and baked potato. Consuming bread releases serotonin into the brain, making you feel happier and calmer. According to Dr. David Ludwig in the journal Appetite, “Carbs aren’t the enemy. Over-consumption of anything is the enemy.”
