Let’s talk about The Gut Stuff

Through videos, content and live events, DJs Alana and Lisa Macfarlane are helping explain how gut health can impact our wellbeing

You might know Alana and Lisa Macfarlane as resident Love Island DJs the Mac Twins. But alongside their music career, the sisters have also been helping explain the science behind gut health with their project, the Gut Stuff. Through YouTube videos, a website and live events, the twins are helping raise awareness of the importance of gut health and its impact on our overall wellbeing.

Alana and Lisa launched The Gut Stuff after taking part in scientific research and discovering that despite their identical DNA, they had very different guts. “They realised we had only 30 to 40% percent of the same microbiomes [micro-organisms that live in the gut],” explains Alana. “It was quite groundbreaking research at the time, so they studied 200 other sets of twins and discovered the same thing.”

Through research and speaking with scientists, the sisters realised that there was a lack of public awareness around the link between gut health and overall health. “We realised gut health is linked to everything from Parkinson’s to mental health and cancer and yet no-one knew about it … so we decided to set up a YouTube series to raise awareness. We emailed six of the top scientists in the world and asked if they’d talk to us [about gut health], and they all said yes,” says Alana. Six videos turned into 36 and in 2017, they decided to set up a website to host their videos and share advice and links to further information.