Bridget Briggs, MDBridget Briggs MD Inc · Board-certified Family Medicine Physician

The Secret to a Clinician's Success Begins with a Healthy Gut: Bridget Briggs, MD

Name: The Secret to a Clinician's Success Begins with a Healthy Gut: Bridget Briggs, MD
Uploaded: 2018-06-07T17:19:16+00:00
Duration: 2 min 10 s
Channel: Bridget Briggs, MD
Description: In this clinical monologue, Dr. Bridget Briggs explains how targeted gut health interventions can dramatically improve outcomes for patients with…

7 Jun 2018 · 2 min

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2:10

In this clinical monologue, Dr. Bridget Briggs explains how targeted gut health interventions can dramatically improve outcomes for patients with malabsorption, post‑gallbladder resection, and those undergoing chemotherapy or immunomodulatory therapy. She describes the role of microvilli enzymes (dipeptidases and disaccharidases) in nutrient breakdown and emphasizes the importance of stool testing for pancreatic elastase to guide pancreatic enzyme replacement, which can resolve steatorrhea, diarrhea, and irritable bowel symptoms. For patients lacking synchronized bile acid release after gallbladder removal, she advocates bile acid supplementation to restore essential fatty acid absorption and prevent frequent, urgent bowel movements. She also highlights the need to replenish immunoglobulins—using colostrum or whey‑based products—for individuals on chemotherapy, methotrexate, or other immune‑modulating drugs, noting that the gut’s rapidly dividing cells are especially vulnerable. Clinical anecdotes, including a patient named Nolan and references to Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and rheumatoid arthritis cohorts, illustrate the real‑world impact of these interventions.

Chapters

These are what helps our patients. I call them like the big butcher knives to break down the food and the big molecules and then the dipeptidases and the disaccharides. Those live within the microvilli and are that secondary set of chopping up the food. But sometimes just getting that right. Pancreatic enzyme when these patients are eating dramatically improves steatorhea, diarrhea, irritable bowel. But the good news is there are tests. You can do a stool study. That's why I love metabolic studies and tools in our toolbox that enable us to do a stool study and to look at the enzyme. If they have low pancreatic elastase, I can intervene and replace it. And we have supplements that do that. We have medicines that do it, but they're life changing to the right patient. And it's no different than if I have a gallbladder resection patient. And if that patient. They may be able to produce bile acids, but if the synchrony isn't happening at the right time, they're ill from not either getting those essential fatty acids in their body or ill off that, you know, constant fat going down the gut causing the rush to the bathroom. So replacing those bile acids really can make a powerful impact in their life. How'd you like to be in the bathroom every time you blink? Right. Not fine. So the replacement phase, so rewarding for Nolan. One of the things I really had to focus on is replenishing and replacing those immunoglobulins because he's on chemo. Right. So children that are taking chemo or your patients that are taking like methotrexate or immunomodulators, you don't just kill the bad cells, but you're going to be affecting the cells of the gut. Remember, the fastest growing cells of the body, Skin, hair, nails, gut. That, that's a problem if they're on medicines that are modulating the immune system. These are our Crohn's patients, our ulcerative colitis patients, our RA patients. Right. You have to start thinking about, can I give back, like colostrum or whey based immunoglobulins to support their immune system. So I'll never forget when we were walking the ward, I would always walk with Nolan and there'd be a line of beds of kids getting chemotherapy.