California Is Putting This In Your Tortillas

Starting January 1, 2026, California is requiring folic acid in all store-bought corn tortillas.

They’re mandating 0.7 milligrams of folic acid per pound of corn masa products.

The goal?

“Decrease birth defects in children born to Hispanic women” (CBS).

Sounds good on paper…

But here's what they're not telling you.

The MTHFR Problem

Up to 40% of people can’t process folic acid.

This is because of a variant in the MTHFR gene.

These individuals cannot convert folic acid into its usable form (methylfolate).

This blocks folate receptors and creates a functional deficiency—the opposite of what the law intends.

In simple terms: your body has the vitamin, but can't use it.

And nobody in California asked about this.

They didn't run genetic panels. They didn't consider that nearly half the population might react differently.

They just mandated a blanket solution.

This is the same thinking that gave us the 1998 fortification mandate—the one that added synthetic folic acid to bread, cereal, and flour tortillas.

Corn masa was left out of that mandate. Now California is "fixing" it.

But the real question is: did the original mandate even work?

Research has linked excess unmetabolized folic acid to increased cancer risk, cognitive decline in the elderly, and immune dysfunction.

A 2009 study found that high folic acid intake was associated with a 3x increased risk of prostate cancer.

Another study showed that unmetabolized folic acid suppresses natural killer cells—the immune cells that hunt down tumors.

Yet the response is always the same: more fortification, more mandates, more one-size-fits-all nutrition.

The Real Solution

If we’re trying to prevent certain birth defects, the answer isn’t dumping synthetic vitamins into the food supply and hoping for the best.

The answer is knowing your genetics.

If you have an MTHFR variant, you need methylfolate—the active form your body can actually use.

Folic acid won't help you. It might hurt you.

If you don't have the variant, fortification might be fine.

But you'll never know unless you look at your DNA.

That's the difference between guessing and knowing.

California thinks it knows what's best for your body.

I'd rather you find out for yourself.

One-size-fits-all nutrition is the problem. Personalized nutrition is the solution.

Until next time,

Kashif Khan

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