A personal journey into women’s fasting, hormonal harmony, and the sacred medicine of cacao.
For years, I searched for something to bring me back into rhythm with myself. I tried countless morning routines, detoxes, juice fasts, and wellness protocols. But nothing truly landed until I discovered the ancient sacred wisdom of cacao and began integrating it with the modern science of fasting.
Like many of us walking the path of healing and remembrance, I wasn’t just seeking a physical shift. I was craving energetic alignment. Especially after my traumatic brain injury, I felt like I was moving through fog. My hormones were out of sync and my energy felt unstable. But everything changed when I started combining fasting with ceremonial cacao.
My name is Sharon Fernie, and I am the Founder of Herbal Cacao, providing the world with high-quality Herbal Cacao Blends. I have a deep passion for holistic wellness and ancient traditions, and at Herbal Cacao, it's our mission to support our community on their journey of self and spiritual discovery, spreading awareness about the profound benefits of ceremonial cacao and other medicinal adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms.
Here in the "Herbal Cacao Journal" I explore the fascinating world of not just our active medicinal ingredients, but also dive into the world of rituals, ancient healing practices, and modern wellness techniques combined with experiences out of my own life.
So, whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just beginning your holistic wellness journey, this blog post in the “Herbal Cacao Journal” is your invitation to deepen your understanding of sacred herb & plants and their profound impact on our mind, body, and spirit.
The Feminine Wisdom in Fasting
I first came across Dr. Mindy Pelz during a time when I was ready to listen more deeply to my body. Her work on fasting and the female body gave language to something I had intuitively known but hadn’t heard from mainstream health voices: women need to fast differently than men.
We’re not small men. Our hormones dance in sacred cycles, estrogen rising in the follicular phase, ovulation peaking mid-cycle, progesterone dancing in the luteal phase, menstruation offering a reset, our bodies constantly shifting in rhythm with the moon. Fasting can be a powerful tool for hormone balance, detoxification, mental clarity, and even spiritual awakening, but it must be done in alignment with our unique biology.
Dr. Mindy teaches that intense fasts are best done in the follicular or early luteal phases, and that around ovulation and the late luteal phase we need more nourishment, especially healthy fats. This knowledge helped me shift from punishing rigidity to sacred alignment. I began tuning into when to fast, when to nourish, and how to listen to my body’s whisper.
The Power of Breaking a Fast With Fat
Breaking a fast is one of the most critical moments of the day. After hours without food, your body is sensitive to what you put in. What you put into your body first sets the tone. Blood sugar can spike, cortisol can surge, and if we reintroduce sugar or refined carbs too quickly, it can throw off the hormonal balance we just worked to restore. I learned that starting with a high-fat, nutrient-dense, non-sugar-spiking food or drink is essential, especially for women.
That’s where cacao came in for me, like a sacred answer to an ancient question.
Cacao is naturally rich in theobromine, magnesium, iron, and anandamide (the bliss molecule), which all support brain function, emotional regulation, and overall vitality. And when we drink it ceremonially, prepared with presence and love—it becomes a ritual of coming home to ourselves.
Unlike coffee, which can feel jittery and ungrounding, ceremonial cacao is heart-opening, grounding, and deeply nourishing. When blended with healthy fats like coconut butter or MCT oil, it becomes the perfect elixir to ease back into eating, while remaining in a fat-burning, hormonally stable state.
Cacao as Sacred Break-Fast: The Science
Here’s why I believe ceremonial cacao is the ultimate food to break your fast with, especially for women!
1. It Supports Blood Sugar Stability
Breaking a fast with sugar or refined carbs leads to rapid blood glucose spikes. According to a study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2020), meals high in carbohydrates post-fast significantly increase insulin response.
Ceremonial cacao, when paired with healthy fats, avoids that spike. It allows for a gentle rise in blood sugar and sustained energy.
2. It Nourishes Your Hormones
Healthy fats are the building blocks of hormone production. Magnesium, abundant in cacao, is essential for hormonal regulation and stress response. A 2019 study in Nutrients emphasized that the macronutrient composition post-fasting has a greater effect on women’s reproductive hormones than in men.
3. It Enhances Satiety and Prevents Overeating
When we break a fast with something nutrient-dense and fat-based, it triggers satiety hormones like CCK (cholecystokinin). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) reports that fat-rich meals increase CCK release, reducing the risk of post-fast bingeing or energy crashes.
4. Cacao’s Unique Plant Magic
Cacao contains theobromine (a gentle stimulant), magnesium, iron, flavonoids, and anandamide (the bliss molecule). It promotes:
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Gentle energy without cortisol spikes
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Improved mood and emotional regulation
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Heart opening and nervous system balance
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Increased BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which supports brain healing and neurogenesis—especially powerful after fasting and in trauma recovery
5. Gut Health & Polyphenols
Fasting often alters the gut microbiome. Reintroducing food rich in polyphenols helps rebalance it. Cacao feeds beneficial bacteria, supports digestion, and enhances gut-brain communication.
Break-Fast Ritual: How I Prepare My Cacao
Depending on what my body needs, I either lean into a gentle 16-hour intermittent fast or a deeper 24-hour water fast for cellular reset and mental clarity. When it’s time to break the fast, whether around midday or in the late afternoon, I always return to ritual. Sometimes I add adaptogens or medicinal mushrooms, sometimes I blend it with cardamom or rose or other herbs that support my hormones. I always tune into what my body needs and what phase of my cycle I’m in. And every time, it feels like a sacred reunion with myself.
Here’s my sacred break-fast cacao drink:
- 15–25g pure ceremonial cacao
- A pinch of sea salt for extra minerals
- 1 tsp of raw activated nut butter (or MCT oil, or coconut butter)
Optional: adaptogenic herbs & mushrooms like Lionsmane Mane or hormone allies like maca
- Blended with warm water
This combination keeps me in a fat-burning state while reawakening digestion. It nourishes my brain, heart, and hormones with every sip.
Avoid adding sweeteners (even natural ones like honey or dates) when breaking your fast, as they’ll pull you out of fat-burning and spike insulin.
✨ I often sit in stillness as I drink, honouring the plant spirit that nourishes me, the Indigenous Maya lineages that have carried this sacred medicine for millennia and my body for being healthy, absorbing all the goodness from Mother Nature. I offer a prayer. I give thanks to the Earth for her nourishment, and to my body for her resilience and intuition. I sip slowly, letting it coat my body in warmth, clarity, and love. I offer gratitude for my breath, my healing. I reconnect to my intention. And I begin my eating window not with stress, but with reverence.
You’re not just feeding your body , you’re feeding your soul.
Because fasting is a healing state, pairing your break-fast moment with intention, mindfulness, and ceremony supports nervous system regulation. That’s where cacao truly shines, not just as a physical food, but as sacred plant medicine.
What to Eat After Cacao: Building the Rest of Your Meal
Once your body has adjusted after 30–60 minutes, you can follow your cacao with a hormone-supportive meal:
✅ Clean protein: pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught salmon, grass-fed lamb
✅ Healthy fats: avocado, olive oil, ghee
✅ Fiber-rich carbs: leafy greens, steamed cruciferous vegetables, sweet potato (especially in the luteal phase)
🚫 Avoid refined carbs or sugar post-fast, especially during sensitive phases of your cycle.
❣️ Mindset Reminder:
Breaking your fast is not a reward or a cheat, it’s fueling your body with intention. Listen to how you feel, and make your first bites count.
My Cycle-Based Approach to Cacao + Fasting
Every phase of the cycle calls for a slightly different approach:
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Follicular phase: Longer fasts are easier. Cacao supports mental clarity and hormone priming.
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Ovulation: Shorten fasts. Add more fats and antioxidants like cacao to nourish.
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Luteal phase: Deeper nourishment needed. Use cacao with added coconut cream, spices, and grounding herbs.
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Menstruation: Gentle fasting or no fasting. Cacao becomes a comforting, mineral-rich ally.
For the Women Walking This Path
If you’re a woman exploring fasting, I invite you to explore it not from a place of control or restriction, but as a way to deepen your relationship with your body. Listen to your body. Honor your rhythm. Use your cycle as your guide. Honor your need for nourishment. And invite ceremonial cacao into your journey, she will embrace you like a warm hug of unconditional love
This isn’t just a trend. It’s an ancient medicine and a modern miracle. A way to start your day with intention, nourishment, and heart. You’re not just breaking a fast. You’re returning to your center.
And in this world, that might just be the most radical thing we can do.
Begin your ritual with Herbal Cacao. Explore our sacred blends crafted for women’s hormonal and spiritual nourishment. [Shop Ceremonial Cacao]
