60 seconds with The Mac Twins

Lianne Campbell MSc
Nov 18, 2016
3 min read

Since 2014, Scottish Djs, The Mac Twins have been participating in gut microbiome studies under the watchful eye of Professor of Genetic Epidemiology (and author of The Diet Myth) Tim Spector.

Although identical (sharing 100% DNA) Alana and Lisa are quite different in character and it turns out they only have a 40% similarity in their microbiome. Professor Spector suspects that Alana having had antibiotics in her earlier years, and Lisa having suffered with infection in her latter years, could play a part in their differences in microbiome, health and possibly even opinion ☺

The Gut Stuff

The twins are currently filming a video series called “The Gut Stuff” to share the many ways that the gut can affect health and ways we can improve it — like eating healthy. To make sense of all the noise, The Mac Twins are interviewing academics and practitioners across a number of relevant fields. They are speaking to specialists ranging from geneticists, microbiologists, neuroscientists, nutritionists, fitness gurus to food scientists and more.

The Gut Stuff series will be launched on YouTube and The Mac Twins’ social media channels as 3 minute video segments starting in January 2017. Lisa and Alana have been interviewed speaking on this subject for major television and radio stations in Canada (CBC) and the UK (BBC) and hope their new video series will continue to uplift the conversation.

Hello Alana and Lisa, could you describe your twin study experience in 140

characters? :)

We loved learning about how different our bodies are from a scientific perspective. It was also great to understand how important our gut is for well being.

What has changed since you sequenced your gut bacteria, anything?

It’s changed us so much already in terms of our daily focus and it’s set us on this quest to

find out more, so I’m sure it will continue to change us.

Our bodies are the perfect constant for this kind of study and we’re willing to continue being guinea pigs if it helps other people along the way. It’s explained so much already, like why Lisa is always a stone heavier and how we both react to different foods differently, we literally can’t wait to find out more.

Do you now focus on what kind of things might affect/alter your microbiome?

We’ve realised that focusing on what goes inside will make a huge difference on how

we’re feeling and looking on the outside. Mindful eating is one of the most basic forms of

personalised health. With tons of chatter and loads of new ‘healthy gut’ products out now, it’s confusing to know what’s right and what matters. We want to get the real story on what it all means, how it affects us and what we can do to make our own lives healthier.

In fact, we’re so keen on this that we’re trying to learn as much as we can. We’ve lined up

interviews with Sandrine Claus, Ray Chaudhuri, Dr Trevor Lawley, Tim Spector and lots

more practitioners and specialists at the forefront in this field.

Has knowing more about your microbiome made you healthier?

Definitely, but mainly because we aren't damaging our bodies by trying lots of fad diets

and extreme fixes, we’re learning to make sensible changes slowly and changes that are

based on science and integrity rather than commercialism and quick results. Gut health is

for life, not just for New Year :)

See more about Alana and Lisa here: www.themactwins.com and watch out for news about

their gut health journey on our twitter (@themactwins) and Instagram updates

(@themactwins).

Subscribe to their new channel “The Gut Stuff” here and go on the journey with them in