This October, as part of our Gut Resilience month, we sat down with Clarissa Lenherr. She’s a BANT Registered Nutritionist with nearly a decade in practice, close to 300 companies’ worth of corporate talks, and a new role as founding wellness expert at triplebond. Clarissa works with clients on everything from digestive issues to complex autoimmune cases. Her philosophy is refreshingly simple: gut health isn’t about restriction, it’s about resilience. Here she explains why cutting foods out rarely works, what party season does to your microbiome, and the three habits she won’t skip, however busy the calendar gets.
Q: For those who may not know you, tell us a little about your work and also your exciting involvement at Triplebond.
I'm a BANT Registered Nutritionist trained in Nutritional Therapy and I've been doing this for nearly ten years now, which I can't quite believe.
I split my time between my private practice, where I see clients for digestive issues, metabolic health and complex health cases (mould related illness and auto-immune conditions), and my corporate work, which has taken me into close to 300 companies around the world, talking about everything from biohacking and stress resilience to menopause and diet myth busting.
And excitingly, I recently joined triplebond, the UK's first social wellness club of its kind, as their founding wellness expert and nutrition ambassador. Over the past year, I have also worked with them to develop the menu for Ground, the café that's open to everyone for eating in or grabbing something to go, as well as the menu for the private members' club and in-room dining. My one rule across both was that everything had to taste amazing first, and then I snuck in all the good stuff for your gut and your blood sugar.
Q: When it comes to gut health, what is one thing you'd love to myth bust?
That a happy gut is all about cutting things out! So many people come to me having cut out gluten, dairy and half the fruit bowl, expecting it to "fix" their gut issues, only to find that for the majority, that isn't the answer. What tends to happen with restriction is that you feel better for a little while, the symptoms creep back in, and then another food comes off the menu, so the list gets longer and longer while you keep chasing that relief.
How I work instead, is to get to the root cause of what's going on. Whether that's an imbalance in your gut microbiome, how well you're digesting your food, stress/trauma or something else entirely, because that's where the long term relief comes from. And the best part is that once we've done that, people can often go back to enjoying most of the foods they love.
Q: What does “feeling good” actually mean to you, personally and professionally?
Feeling good has changed so much for me over the years…. As cliché as it sounds, these days, as a mum of two, it's all about being able to show up for my kids with energy and patience and being the best mum I can be.
Professionally, it's watching a client's life change and knowing I got to be part of that journey. I know first-hand how it feels to live with pain and illness for a long time, so when someone tells me they finally feel like themselves again it brings me immense joy, and honestly, it's the reason I do what I do.
Q: How would you explain gut health to someone who thinks it's just about digestion?
I'd say digestion is only the start of the story. Your gut houses trillions of microbes that behave almost like an additional organ, and when they ferment the fibre we eat they produce short chain fatty acids such as butyrate, which fuel the cells lining the colon, help maintain the gut barrier and help regulate inflammation throughout the body.
Around 70% of our immune cells sit in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue, so the gut is constantly training the immune system to tell friend from foe.
It's also in two-way communication with the brain through the vagus nerve and the enteric nervous system, and around 90% of the body's serotonin is produced by cells in the gut lining. That's why I always tell clients that if their energy, skin, mood feels off, the gut is one of the first places to look.
Q: “Gut resilience” is a growing term. What does a resilient gut look like in practice, and how do we build one?
A resilient gut is one that can handle real life. You have a big night out, a long flight or a course of antibiotics, and within a day or two you feel like yourself again. You build it a bit like you build fitness… by showing up for it most days. Lots of fibre and different plants, something fermented every day like kefir, kimchi or sauerkraut, colourful foods like berries and good quality extra virgin olive oil, and then the things we all know we should do: sleeping well, moving our bodies and keeping stress in check.
Q: What's your take on probiotic supplements? When are they useful, and what should people look for on the label beyond CFU count?
I think of probiotics as a targeted tool that works best alongside a fibre rich diet. The evidence is strongest for specific situations, such as during and after antibiotics, and for some people with IBS type symptoms, and the benefits are strain specific, so the right product depends on what you want it to do.
The thing to remember is that different strains do different jobs, so it's worth matching the product to what you want help with. On the label, I recommend looking for the full strain name with the letters and numbers at the end, a good CFU count that's guaranteed until the end of shelf life, and how to store it. Then give it a good four weeks, but even up to twelve, before you decide if it's doing anything for you.
Q: Autumn and party season bring more dinners out, drinks and late nights. What happens to the gut when routines slip?
Your gut is a real creature of habit. It has its own body clock, and your gut bugs run on a daily rhythm that's set by when you eat and sleep, so late dinners and short nights can leave everything feeling a bit out of sync. Add in less fibre, richer food and a few more drinks, and it's no surprise that bloating and reflux tend to pop up at this time of year. The good news is that your gut is brilliant at adapting, so you only need a few steady habits in your week to keep it happy.
Q: How does alcohol affect the microbiome and gut lining? Are some drinks easier on the gut than others?
Alcohol affects the gut in two main ways. Ethanol and its breakdown product acetaldehyde can loosen the tight junction proteins that hold the cells of the gut lining together, which increases intestinal permeability and allows endotoxins to pass into the bloodstream, where they can drive inflammation. And over time, regular heavy drinking is also associated with dysbiosis, including fewer of the butyrate producing bacteria that help maintain the gut barrier.
When it comes to what's in the glass, red wine has the most interesting data. A study of 916 female twins in the UK found that red wine drinkers had greater microbial diversity than non-drinkers, an association the researchers put down to its polyphenols, although the study was observational and we get polyphenols from berries, olive oil and dark chocolate too!
For a sensitive gut, you can try dry wine and clear spirits like vodka with soda water, which are lower in fermentable carbohydrates than beer, sweet cocktails and sugary mixers. Plus less fizz tends to mean less bloating. Also, drinking with food slows how quickly alcohol is absorbed, which is gentler on the gut lining, so try having with or just after a meal.
Q: Is there any truth to the idea that social connection itself benefits the gut? What does the research tell us so far?
Yes, and I love this. A study in 2023 showed that we share gut bacteria with the people we live with and spend time with, and other studies have linked bigger social circles with more diverse microbiomes. It's early days and we can't say for sure that one causes the other, but it makes so much sense to me. Being around people we love lowers stress, which our gut feels straight away, and we tend to eat more slowly and digest better when we're relaxed and laughing over a meal with friends and loved ones.
Q: What are your practical tips for eating out or going to events with a sensitive gut, without feeling restricted?
I'm a big believer in looking at the menu before you go, so you can choose something you're excited about without feeling rushed. I used to hate arriving at a restaurant and panic ordering something I knew would trigger my symptoms, just because I didn't want to say out loud that I couldn't eat something.
Eat normally during the day too, because turning up starving usually means inhaling the bread basket, and eating fast is a trigger all on its own! Once you're there, slow down if you can, chew well and don't be afraid to ask for a swap or the sauce on the side.
If you're feeling anxious, a few deep breaths on the tube or in the bathroom when you arrive can help calm your nervous system, and your gut along with it.
Q: If someone has a busy social calendar coming up, what are the two or three non-negotiable habits you'd recommend?
Number one is to make the meals you're in charge of count! So if dinner is out of your hands, pack breakfast and lunch with protein, fibre and as many nutritious ingredients as you can.
Number two is water, with a glass between drinks and a few alcohol-free nights dotted through the week.
Number three is to get up at your usual time and get outside in the morning light, even after a late one. I know the lie in is tempting, but that little walk does so much more for your energy and your digestion.
Quickfire round
Coffee or wine? Coffee in the morning, wine at night – never the inverse!
Favourite book? Nutrition: Ohhh impossible as it is an ever evolving space! Perhaps The Gut by Giulia Enders
Favourite book? Personal: Not one I would necessarily read for escapism, but I found The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate life changing
What you're watching right now? Nobody Wants This
Favourite sweet treat? Dark chocolate obviously
Favourite high fibre food? Raspberries
Favourite Artah Product? NAD+ and Advanced Multi Nutrient
Favourite workout? triplebond’s infrared Barre
Wellness tool you couldn't live without? How can I choose! Perhaps my Oura ring – I do love data and I really like being able to track my cycle naturally by using the temperature measurements
Where can our community find you? Come and say hi on Instagram at @clarissalenherrnutrition, head to clarissalenherr.com
