Meet the twin DJs who have become unlikely champions for gut health

As ambassadors for the human gut go, identical Scottish twins Lisa and Alana Macfarlane are not the most obvious candidates. Yet this celebrity DJ and radio presenter pair, aged 32, are becoming the rather cool, glamorous face of the gut microbiome – that natural assortment of bacteria, fungi and other microbes living within our guts that seems to have a dynamic importance to health.

In the past decade, interest in the microbiome has increased exponentially, with research piling up to show that the balance of microbes in your gut influences every function of the body, including mental health and chronic conditions from obesity to arthritis. There are even links to neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease.

So what led the Macfarlanes to become so fascinated with our gut interiors that they have shifted lifestyles on a professional and personal level? “If you had told us we’d be interested in nutrition when we were growing up,” says Lisa, “we’d not have believed you. We were brought up on deep-fried pizza and chips. We thought diet was eating cabbage soup before you went to Magaluf. We didn’t relate what we ate to our health.”

Yet in the past four years the pair have set up a company dedicated to promoting science-based information and products related to the gut microbiome. They have now published their first book on the subject, The Gut Stuff. The trigger for getting involved came via Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, who wrote the book’s foreword. The sisters had joined Spector’s research unit, which uses twins for medical and social research, at the age of 25. He describes how they became his “go-to twin guinea pigs”, helping him to show that gut microbes can be altered with diet, and launch the world’s largest personalised nutrition study.

“We were always being tested,” says Alana, “so when Tim asked if we would like to have our microbiome sequenced [which shows what different sorts and levels of bacteria it contains], we said yes automatically.”

“It might have been different,” points out Lisa, “if we had realised it would mean sending him poo samples every day for two months, plus having a few colonoscopies.”

But the twins went ahead and soon found out that while they shared 100 per cent of the same DNA, their microbiome differed considerably. “We only had 30 to 40 per cent in common,” says Lisa. “We were fascinated. Here was this thing that we could change to make ourselves healthier, which was lifestyle- not gene-dependent.” They began cutting out processed food and eating a wider variety of fruit and vegetables – both easy ways to improve the variety of bacteria in the gut – and noticed that they felt fitter. They had fewer colds and felt their moods were more stable.

What amazed them, though, was that this particular health message didn’t seem to be getting through with anyone they knew. “That’s when we got the idea to set up The Gut Stuff as a platform for sharing evidence-based information about the gut microbiome.”

The book was a natural next step and written with 18 experts on the microbiome from around the world, including Scottish immunologist Dr Jenna Macciochi and Prof John F Cryan at University College Cork, who pioneered research into the gut‑brain axis. 

The Macfarlanes even include a chapter titled “The Bulls--- Bin”, which takes aim at the kind of extreme diets and pseudoscientific health advice other influencers have been criticised for.

Lisa adds: “It was really important to us that this book would be useful and based in science. We didn’t want to do some glossy coffee table book. We really wanted to democratise the information we had.” 

For example, she says, “did you know that 70 per cent of immune tissue is in the gut? And 90-95 per cent of serotonin – the happy hormone – is found there, too. That tells you how important a healthy gut is.”

Alana says it is important that her generation gets the message. “We have to move away from the idea that looking after ourselves is all about deprivation – no gluten, no alcohol, no fun – to detox or clean our guts.”

Lisa agrees: “We used to do the worst – the detoxes, the skinny tea, the celery juice, the Dukan diet. We’d eat chicken and yogurt for weeks. We fell foul to all the marketing jargon.”

But not any more. “We get loads more sleep,” says Alana. “And we eat more fibre, more variety of foods, more fermented foods, which contain live bacteria, and by‑products of what the bacteria make, which may support your gut.  

“We do still have a glass of wine, but now we have the knowledge to make better choices for our guts.”

The Gut Stuff by Lisa and Alana Macfarlane (RRP £14.99) is out now. Buy for £12.99 at books.telegraph.co.uk or call 0844 871 1514