Neuroscientist reveals how restaurants offer diners bread and alcohol before their meal to trick them into eating MORE

Most diners expect to be served bread and drinks before their order is accepted, and one neuroscientist has revealed that this is more of a strategy than a convenience.

Daniel Amin, an American doctor who runs his clinic, said that foods eaten before meals affect the brain and make it difficult for people to control their desires.

Both bread and alcohol release serotonin in the brain, making you feel happy and calm.

It may seem counterintuitive, because these items fill you up.

But the chemical eventually declines, leaving people seeking that high, and they do so by filling their stomachs.

“When you go to a restaurant, the first thing they do is put bread on the table and ask you if you want alcohol because they both knock your frontal lobes out of your body,” Amin said in a post on the Neuro Lab TikTok account that accumulated. More than 1.6 million views.

“Both increase the likelihood of ordering more and spending more money at the restaurant,” he added.

However, this is not a nefarious plot hatched by restaurant owners, chefs and servers. It's simply neuroscience.

Amin explained that bread and alcohol cause depression in the frontal lobe.

The frontal lobe is the part of the human brain that is involved in all kinds of higher functions—things like planning, problem solving, motivation, judgment, social behavior, and impulse control.

Regarding bread, Amin explained that the effect has a lot to do with blood sugar.

“Bread is an investment on their part, because bread gives you a sugar spike — a blood sugar spike — which then drives serotonin in your brain and makes you happy,” he said.

Drinking alcohol has the same effect.

However, when serotonin dries up, the frontal lobe declines, and the person has difficulty controlling his emotions and impulses.

Another side effect, which Amin did not mention, is that eating bread can cause your blood sugar to rise and then fall quickly, leaving you hungry and asking for more.

While many believe that bread and alcohol put diners in a good mood, sparking their desire to buy more, Amin said pre-meal items also lower inhibitions.

“Serotonin suppresses frontal lobe function.” Then alcohol, which also causes your frontal lobe to go down, so you'll drop more money at the restaurant.

Alcohol lowers your inhibitions and impairs your ability to think critically about risks and make decisions. So, ordering drinks before the meal may encourage you to skip the bill

In other words, all that bread and alcohol might cloud your judgment a little.

To be clear, Amen oversimplifies the role of serotonin in brain function.

Although we associate serotonin with good feelings, it's involved in all kinds of body functions below mood — digestion, for example.

However, serotonin appears to play an important role in recognizing the consequences of poor decisions and risk-seeking behaviors.

It may not be as simple as: “Serotonin goes up, happiness goes up, spending goes up.”

Whatever the case may be, restaurant hospitality is big business. Part of that job is making the customer feel welcome so they spend money.