White Coat Black Sheep

Dr. Valerie Civelli
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Medicine
  • Updated Weekly

Hosted by Dr. Val Civelli, White Coat Black Sheep explores physiology, functional medicine, and the medical questions most people are told not to ask. This is where evidence meets curiosity, where dogma gets uncomfortable, and where real world medicine takes priority over headlines. From understanding your lab work to debunking hormone myths, medication misconceptions, and optimization strategies, this podcast helps you understand what is actually happening inside your body. If you care about health and think there might be a better way to practice medicine, you’re in the right place.

  1. 3d ago

    Moving Forward, Not Moving On: Jesus Gonzalez on Suicide Loss and Healing

    Intro:Jesus Gonzalez, a chief operating officer for primary care at a federally qualified health center, joins Dr. Civelli to talk about losing his partner, a physician assistant, to suicide. They discuss what grief does to memory and the body, why clinicians struggle to access care themselves, how culture and community shape healing, and why moving forward is different from moving on. Topics covered: 00:00 – Welcome and why this conversation matters03:53 – Sitting in silence: supporting someone without fixing05:09 – Why healthcare workers can't access mental health care09:42 – Culture, community, and honoring the deceased11:26 – Grief brain: memory and the body18:52 – Only three days of bereavement leave23:24 – Joy, guilt, and permission to feel happy27:01 – Moving forward, not moving on29:08 – The day he found out and a stranger's kindness37:25 – Having end-of-life conversations with your family40:05 – How to support someone who is grievingMentioned in episode: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (annual community walks)The Trevor ProjectPHQ-9 depression screeningAbout Jesus Gonzalez:Chief operating officer for primary care at a federally qualified health center, with prior experience in Bakersfield hospital systems. He speaks openly about suicide loss and mental health in healthcare on Instagram. @instajesus Connect with Trifecta Medical:trifectamedical.orgwww.houseofval.com(661) 677-2623info@trifectamedical.org9000 Ming Ave, Bldg 1LA, Ste. 29, 31, 33, Bakersfield CA Guest intake: justin@thebeaconstudios.com

  2. Oct 7

    I'm Not Ruined: Marcus Garcia on Trauma, Addiction & Coming Back to Life

    IntroDr. Civelli sits down with Marcus John Garcia III, a hospice liaison based in Kern County, for a raw and unfiltered conversation. Marcus shares his story publicly for the first time — being molested as a child, years of active addiction including a meth habit during COVID, and the long process of rebuilding through faith, fatherhood, and fitness. The conversation shifts into clinical territory as well, covering peptides, GLP-1s, growth hormone, and tesamorelin. Topics Covered Growing up in Las Vegas and the "melting pot" culture that made it easy to lose himselfChildhood trauma: being molested at five years old, and how it shaped his understanding of intimacy and trustHis work as a hospice liaison in Kern County and what death and dying have taught him about peopleWhy he believes no one is born "bad" — trauma and learned behaviorSabotaging relationships out of fear, and learning to let people inA period of confusion and identity questions following his childhood traumaWhy judgment of people struggling with addiction misses the pointFaith, trust, and leaning on something bigger than himselfTurning criticism and hate into motivationBecoming a father, and the difference between imitating a father figure and being presentA season of active addiction — cocaine, ecstasy, and meth — that intensified during COVID lockdownsLosing significant weight during his lowest point, then rebuilding through bodybuilding (Classic Physique)Moving to Tehachapi for clarity, and losing his grandmother to cancer while she was on hospiceLessons on lasting marriage from three generations of his familyWhy he stopped counting sober days and instead focuses on todayPeptides, GLP-1 medications, and working in the regulatory gray area around themGrowth hormone and tesamorelin — benefits, risks, and why bloodwork and a coach matterEmerging research linking retatrutide to reduced cancer riskHis closing message: you are not alone, and it's okay to still be healingConnect Marcus John Garcia III Dr. Civelli | Trifecta Medical9000 Ming Ave, Bldg 1LA, Ste. 29, 31, 33, Bakersfield CA(661) 677-2623info@trifectamedical.orgtrifectamedical.orgwww.houseofval.com@drcivelli

  3. Sep 30

    From NBA Chef to Healing Hormones | Cindy, The Nourishing Cocina

    IntroDr. Civelli sits down with private chef Cindy, founder of The Nourishing Cocina, for a conversation that goes way beyond the kitchen. Cindy spent a decade cooking professionally, including a stint as the private chef for pro basketball players living in China, before turning her own struggle with hormonal acne into a line of gut-healing wellness mocktails, sauces, and detox drinks. She and Dr. Civelli dig into meal planning without the overwhelm, the real relationship between stress and digestion, and why the wellness industry's fear-based messaging around PCOS and hormones does more harm than good. Topics Covered Cindy's path from PR/marketing and teaching English in China to becoming a private chef for professional athletesBuilding custom menus and working alongside her then-boyfriend, the team's athletic trainer, as her business managerWhy grocery shopping triggers so much stress — and how to simplify meal planning around seasonal produceLetting go of food guilt: canned vs. scratch-made, "clean" labels, and doing your best instead of being perfectThe case for slowing down in the kitchen instead of chasing speed and efficiencyWellness retreats in Bali and Thailand, including a 3-day silent meditation retreatConfidence, imposter syndrome, and growing into a professional identityManaging difficult clients and personalities as a private chefDesigning multi-day menus and mocktail bars for wellness retreat propertiesThe stress-digestion-inflammation cycle, and how elimination diets can backfireGetting real about PCOS, hormone symptoms, and wellness fearmongeringLessons on longevity from "The Blue Zones"How Cindy's own hormonal acne led her to develop Coma La Flor (hibiscus, lemon balm, passionflower) and a chlorophyll-dandelion liver detox drinkTestosterone, PCOS, and hair lossMentioned in Episode The Blue Zones (book)Coma La Flor — hibiscus, lemon balm & passionflower drinkChlorophyll dandelion detox drinkConnect Cindy | The Nourishing CocinaInstagram & TikTok: The Nourishing CocinaEmail: thenourishingcocina@gmail.com Dr. Civelli | Trifecta Medical9000 Ming Ave, Bldg 1LA, Ste. 29, 31, 33, Bakersfield CA(661) 677-2623info@trifectamedical.orgtrifectamedical.orgwww.houseofval.com@drcivelli

  4. Sep 23

    Dr. Sabine Hazan on the Microbiome Research Nobody's Funding

    SHOW NOTES Dr. Sabine Hazan is a gastroenterologist and microbiome researcher, founder of ProgenaBiome and the Microbiome Research Foundation, with practices in both Florida and California. Her background includes three decades of clinical trial work, including trials that brought vaccines and C. difficile treatments to market, before shifting her focus to microbiome research. In this conversation, she and Dr. Civelli cover: Why Dr. Hazan's lab doesn't hand patients a standard report on their microbiome results, describing the science as still at a research level rather than a validated clinical guidelineHer published research, "The Lost Microbes of COVID-19," documenting bifidobacteria loss in severe COVID-19 patients, and her account of presenting that data directly to CDC scientistsHer approach to fecal microbiota transplant, including how she evaluates donor compatibility and why she also tests family members and household pets as part of a full case workupThe cost and current limitations of fecal transplant as a research-level treatmentHer ongoing, open-ended research questions connecting gut microbiome balance to autism, described in the interview as her personal clinical hypotheses and research direction rather than an established causal claim. This includes her stated views on vaccine timing, which are presented as open questions she is actively researching, not medical guidance.Her work on C. difficile research and engraftment testing after fecal transplantPersonal health tracking, including how her wearable ring data (HRV) reflected the stress of frequently flying between her two practices, and her own biological age testingHow to reach her practice at ProgenaBiome.com and support her research through the Microbiome Research FoundationThe claims and hypotheses described above reflect Dr. Hazan's personal research perspective and clinical experience. Several, particularly those connecting vaccination and autism, are actively contested in mainstream medical and public health guidance and should not be treated as established medical fact or advice.

  5. Sep 16

    The Cost of Saying Yes: Energy, Hormones, and Leading Without Burning Out

    SHOW NOTES Andrea Gebhardt is a leadership and business coach, mother, and host of her own leadership podcast, reachable across social platforms as "Andrea Gebhardt" and at brewingsuccess.com. She joins Dr. Civelli for a conversation that moves from leadership and boundaries into hormone health, biological age, and a live read of her own blood work. In this conversation, they cover: The difference between managing time and rationing energy, and the personal rule Andrea uses to protect her schedule from last-minute add-onsA leadership lesson about listening before jumping in with solutions, learned early in Andrea's career transition from teacher to administratorSocial battery, boundaries, and the "five cars in the drive-through" rule for protecting personal peaceBiological age testing: Andrea's result came back at 38, while Dr. Civelli shares that her own biological age was 55 shortly after residencyThe omega-3 index as an overlooked marker for sudden cardiac event risk, and how Andrea used chia seeds and coconut milk to raise hersA breakdown of blood type theory (O as the oldest blood type suited to heavy protein and intense exercise, A suited to lighter, plant-forward eating, and AB as the newest and least understood) as it relates to diet and exercise responseA detailed explanation of mitochondria: their structure, their role producing cellular energy, and what poor mitochondrial health looks likeWhy alcohol is now classified as a Group 1 carcinogen, and the idea that an alcohol "buzz" is technically an early symptom of alcohol poisoningPerimenopause and menopause, including the drop in growth hormone around age 30, painful intimacy, and the lack of a normalized conversation around treatmentThe importance of routine bloodwork, including markers like vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc, for long-term health and longevityA live, unscripted moment where Dr. Civelli reviews Andrea's real lab results on air, flags an elevated iron saturation and thyroid antibody count consistent with Hashimoto's, and discusses gluten avoidance and a short steroid course as next steps

  6. Sep 9

    The $17 Billion Bottled Water Industry, and Why It Might Be Lying to You

    SHOW NOTES Rhonda Vaughn works in a large orthopedic surgery practice and, outside of that role, has become an advocate for Kangen Water, a Japanese water ionization technology that's been in use for roughly 50 years. She was first introduced to it through a personal conversation and has since built it into her daily life, for herself, her Yorkshire Terrier, and her plants. In this conversation, she and Dr. Civelli cover: What ERW (electrolyzed reduced water) is and how a water ionizer separates a water stream into different pH levels, from acidic to alkalineThe claim that this technology is classified as a medical device in Japan and used in hospitals thereRhonda's personal experience coming off Gabapentin after 8 to 10 years, the brain fog she says it caused, and what the withdrawal process was likeThe range of uses she describes across the different water pH levels: drinking water, a toner for skin, a natural hair detangler, a surface disinfectant, and water for houseplants and petsA discussion of microplastics in bottled water, including Dr. Civelli's own experience finding microplastics on a personal specialty lab panelHRV (heart rate variability) and vagal nerve health as it relates to stress tracking and wearable devicesA broader conversation about the bottled water industry, food additives, and consumer trust in labelingSeveral claims in this episode, including specific health outcomes attributed to drinking this water, reflect Rhonda's personal experience and testimonials she's heard from others rather than clinical research findings. Viewers should treat these as personal accounts, not medical guidance.

  7. Sep 2

    The Doctor Who Left Medicine for a $60 Million Car Wash Empire

    SHOW NOTES "Dr. J," who goes by the Car Wash Doc online, is an internal medicine physician and former Kaiser hospitalist who spent eight years working in San Diego after training at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in the Inland Empire. At the peak of running both his medical career and a growing car wash business, he was working roughly 100-hour weeks, night shifts at the hospital combined with hands-on days managing his sites, and experienced significant burnout before leaving Kaiser in December 2025. In this conversation, he and Dr. Civelli cover: How he used SBA loans, starting with a $250,000 minimum, to acquire and turn around underperforming car washes, scaling to 21 locations worth an estimated $60 million with roughly $6 million investedThe choice he ultimately had to make between medicine, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle, and why leaving medicine became the easier pathHis advocacy for subscription-based business models, tax strategy, and replacing earned medical income with scalable business incomeWhy physician skills, empathy, diagnostic thinking, critical thinking, communication, translate directly into running and scaling a businessBuilding wellness centers of his own and the irony of being "unwell in a wellness industry"His wife's parallel career as a nurse anesthetist and YouTube content creator, and how they built their business and family life around each otherThe burnout culture in medicine: insurance red tape, prior authorizations, and the feeling of being a "paper pusher" rather than a critical thinkerHis personal health turnaround since leaving Kaiser: consistent gym time, better meals at home, red light therapy, saunas, and cold plungesHis own biological age testing through True Diagnostic, which returned a result of 55 shortly after residency during his highest-stress period, and the work since to bring that number down closer to his real ageHis closing message to physicians: you are not defined by your degree, and it's never too late to start over

  8. Aug 26

    Parkinson's, Dementia & the Insurance Fight Nobody Talks About

    SHOW NOTES Dr. Sulagshan "Shaun" Mahendrarajah is a board-certified neurologist practicing in Bakersfield, California, currently opening his own neurology clinic at Doctor's Park (Ming Avenue and New Stine Road). Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Montreal after his family fled the civil war, he trained in the Netherlands Antilles, completed clinicals in Chicago, and did his residency at the University of Iowa before practicing in Oregon, Texas, and now California. In this conversation, he and Dr. Civelli cover: The physical signs that let a trained neurologist diagnose Parkinson's on sight, including decreased blink reflex and masked facial expressionNon-motor early warning signs: loss of smell, constipation, REM behavior sleep disorder, and shrinking handwritingHow the DaT scan and PET scan have changed diagnostic confirmation for Parkinson's and Alzheimer'sThe role of exercise in slowing both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's progression, based on his own patient outcomesThe frustrating reality of insurance denials, peer-to-peer reviews, and step therapy requirements for dementia and Parkinson's medicationsApoE testing and the bleeding risk considerations behind infusion therapies for Alzheimer'sFunctional medicine and genomic testing as a cash-pay option in his upcoming practiceHis personal meditation practice, tied to Hindu tradition and a two-week trip to Varanasi, IndiaThe concept of svadharma, or true calling, and how it shaped his decision to leave a hospital job and open his own clinicHis father's story of being tortured while fleeing the Sri Lankan civil war, and the survivor's guilt that follows his family's story

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Hosted by Dr. Val Civelli, White Coat Black Sheep explores physiology, functional medicine, and the medical questions most people are told not to ask. This is where evidence meets curiosity, where dogma gets uncomfortable, and where real world medicine takes priority over headlines. From understanding your lab work to debunking hormone myths, medication misconceptions, and optimization strategies, this podcast helps you understand what is actually happening inside your body. If you care about health and think there might be a better way to practice medicine, you’re in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Valerie Civelli
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Dr. Valerie Civelli
  • Show Website
    White Coat Black Sheep

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