Part 1: The Truth About Enriched Flour -Why We Ditched it for Good

Hey y’all, it’s Momma J, and today I need to talk to you about something that shook my kitchen and made me question everything I thought I knew about a pantry staple: flour.

We make a lot of food from scratch here at the Johnson Homestead—noodles, biscuits, breads, you name it. And I’ve always used the same enriched white flour because, well, that’s just what we grew up with. But one day, we ran out. So, I grabbed a bag of organic, non-enriched flour at the store, thinking it wouldn’t make much difference.

Oh, was I wrong.

The first thing I noticed? The smell. Or rather, the lack of it. Enriched flour has a distinct scent—if you know, you know. But this organic flour? It smelled like nothing. Just clean, pure wheat. That was my first clue that something was different.

Then came the egg noodles. I followed my same trusty recipe, but the dough was different. It needed more flour, the texture was slightly off, and when I finally cooked them—y’all, they tasted completely different. Richer, fuller—just real.

That’s when I knew I had to dig deeper. What exactly was in the enriched flour we’d been using all these years? And why did this organic flour taste and cook so differently?

What’s Really in Enriched Flour?

“Enriched” sounds nice, doesn’t it? Like they’re adding something extra to make it healthier. But here’s what’s really happening:

1️⃣ They strip the wheat of all its nutrients. The bran and germ—where all the good stuff like fiber, healthy fats, and vitamins live—get completely removed. Why? To make it last longer on the shelf.

2️⃣ Then they add synthetic versions of those nutrients back in. But y’all, these aren’t the same nutrients your body gets from real food. They’re lab-created chemicals, and your body doesn’t process them the same way.

3️⃣ It’s bleached. Yes, they literally bleach flour to make it stark white. Chemicals like benzoyl peroxide and chlorine dioxide (yep, the same stuff used in swimming pools) are added to make it look “clean.”

4️⃣ One of the worst offenders? Folic Acid.

That last one is where things get real serious, real fast.

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Folic Acid – The Hidden Danger in Your Flour

For years, we’ve been told that folic acid is essential—especially for pregnant women. It’s supposed to prevent birth defects, so they add it to everything: flour, cereal, pasta, even rice.

But here’s what they don’t tell you: Half the population can’t even process folic acid properly.

See, there’s a gene called MTHFR (yeah, I know—it looks like a bad word). Up to 50% of people have a variation of this gene that makes it hard for their bodies to convert folic acid into the usable form of folate (5-MTHF).

That means instead of helping, folic acid just builds up in their blood, and that’s where things get dangerous.

📌 Unmetabolized folic acid (UFA) has been linked to serious health problems, including:

Increased cancer risk (breast, colorectal, and prostate)

Immune system suppression (weakens your ability to fight infections)

Neurological issues (brain fog, mood disorders, even neurodevelopmental issues in babies)

And y’all, the scariest part? The connection between folic acid and autism.

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The Autism and Folic Acid Connection

I know this is a sensitive topic, but moms deserve to know the truth. Studies are showing that high levels of unmetabolized folic acid in pregnant women might be increasing the risk of autism in their children.

🔍 A 2017 study in The Journal of Nutrition found that pregnant women with too much folic acid in their blood were twice as likely to have a child with autism. (https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/147/3/507/4584640)

🔍 A review in Frontiers in Neuroscience found that mothers with the MTHFR gene mutation who took high doses of folic acid had an increased risk of having children with autism. (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00383/full)

Now listen—I’m not saying folic acid causes autism. But these studies show there’s a link, and that’s enough to make me pause and rethink everything.

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What Can You Do?

This information is overwhelming, but there are simple changes we can make to protect our families.

✅ Switch to organic, non-enriched flour. Your food will taste better, and your body won’t be overloaded with synthetic garbage.

✅ Get folate from real food. Eat leafy greens, liver, eggs, and legumes—your body knows exactly what to do with these.

✅ If you need a supplement, choose methylated folate (5-MTHF). This is the natural, active form that your body can actually use.

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Coming Up in Part 2: What Happened When We Ditched Enriched Flour?

After cutting enriched flour out of our diet, we started noticing big changes—not just in how our food tasted, but in how we felt. In the next post, I’ll share exactly what happened when we made the switch, from better digestion to more energy to why we’ll never go back.

If you’re still using enriched flour, I challenge you—try organic just once. Make a batch of biscuits or noodles, and just see if you notice the difference. More importantly, pay attention to how you feel.

Because knowledge is power, and when we know better, we do better.

Stay strong, stay informed, and stay rooted in tradition,

Momma J

"Crafted for wellness, rooted in truth."