Isolation 2020 project featuring Alana and Lisa Macfarlane AKA The Mac Twins and co-founders of The Gut Stuff
I am really happy to have had the opportunity to speak with the beautiful Alana Macfarlane and her equally beautiful twin sister, Lisa, AKA @themactwins for my Isolation 2020 Project. Together they are founders of The Gut Stuff @thegutstuff.
Both girls describe their childhood as “family focused and great”. They grew up in Buckstone, Edinburgh, in a top floor flat with their parents and two cousins. Clearly from strong stock with their mother having to carry each one of them up all the flights of stairs, one at a time! The girls tell me how before school they were pretty dependent on one another with Lisa often being the spokesperson. Their Mum felt it important for them to have their own identities and ultimately they didn’t even want to work together. However, they ended up doing a pilot for MTV and the rest is history.
With Alana confessing to being more of a home bird, Lisa was the first to leave home and move away to acting school in 2006. Alana then studied dance after which she had her own successful stage school in Scotland and would fly in West End stars to give workshops. Extremely impressive given that Alana has suffered with arthritis since she was 7 and chose to come off all her medication at 17 as she didn’t like the effects they were having!
Lisa is pictured on the left and Alana is on the right
The pilot for MTV lead the girls into working for one of the very first online magazines, doing backstage interviews at festivals. This lead to work on BBC1 xtra breakfast show and then attracting a million listeners on their Saturday night show on Virgin radio Uk. They were also the official DJs for Love Island on ITV 2. The twins have toured all over the world playing for some of the world’s most recognised brands. They have toured with the UK’s biggest music institution @officialchartz, the official charts. They have interviewed countless top music acts, opened many festival stages, broadcasted live everywhere from The Brits to Team GB camp and the list of accolades really does go on and on and on!! Alana and Lisa are truly incredible and a total inspiration with all they have achieved.
Despite all the fun and amazing experiences they have shared, it is their company The Gut Stuff that they feel has given them purpose. Both girls agree that they have achieved everything they wanted as DJs, touring the world and playing all the top DJ gigs not to mention the biggest show on TV (Love Island). However, it reached a point where their DJ work was just too much and they needed to put on the brakes and really look at what success meant to them.
You may already know, twins are a great constant for medical research and this is why in 2015 Alana and Lisa became the “chief guinea pigs” for Professor Tim Spector and his British Gut project with the Twin Research Department at Kings College. As volunteers along with many other twins, they discovered that despite having 100% the same DNA, their guts have only around 30/40% the same microbiota, which could explain why their bodies behave so differently. This strongly demonstrates how each and every one of us are truly unique and proves how one size really does not fit all! Coming from a working class background in Scotland and, sadly, losing their father to a heart attack at the young age of 50, Alana and Lisa wish to bring good nutrition and well being to all, talking about health in a different way. Backed up by a great team of experts they really are achieving their aim. “Science is complex but changes can be simplistic” they tell me. The Gut Stuff was born in 2017.
These lovely Scottish girls chose their shared word “Unity” to sum up this time in isolation. They explained how, even though they have been apart, they have remained together and remained working together. They also felt that many of the current issues being faced by the world, particularly the Black Lives Matter movement and the demonstrations that have been witnessed around the world, there really has been more a feeling of unity than ever before. I truly hope that, if this pandemic has been good for anything, it is that the majority of the world have come together and recognised that we are all connected, not only with each other but with nature and our planet.
Alana and Lisa told me that they have both had the Coronavirus and in their volunteer work their efforts are concentrated on seeing what can be learned from them with regard to the virus. Constant tests and continuous research is certainly what is needed right now to help the scientists deal with this terrible pandemic. Obviously, the twins’ focus is on their guts and nutrition.
Another word chosen by Alana to describe her time personally in lockdown is “Purpose”. She explained that this time has highlighted how important it is to choose to do thinks in life that make you want to get up in the morning. “There should always be a reason for your actions” she said. I completely agree – having a love and a passion for what you are doing career wise is hugely beneficial to your mental health and good mental health has a huge impact on your physical health.
Lisa chose to describe her personal time in lockdown with the word “Togetherness”. Not only was there a huge sense of the world being in this pandemic together but for Lisa, even though living apart from Alana at different ends of London, they still found a way of being together. Not long after speaking to Lisa, she announced her engagement. Clearly time in isolation with her boyfriend went very well! I wish them both congratulations and much love, health and happiness for the rest of their lives together and may her wedding be all she dreams of.
Alana and Lisa did not think they would miss each other during lockdown but, the truth is, they have struggled being apart for so long and it’s even longer since they last saw their Mum, both saying how worried they are about her. One symptom they both experienced when they had the virus was the loss of taste and smell, “it really was crap” “the corona-coaster is very real” they told me. They volunteered for the NHS because they wanted to help out and have used their time in isolation to listen to their followers. They covered live sessions with doctors and specialists, using their platform to provide free resources and advice on wellbeing. The Gut Stuff started life as a small passion project, and the girls have done an amazing job growing to the size it is today in just 3 years. They have now launched their own food range which is available on their website (link in their bio) and on Amazon. Just before lockdown they signed a book deal and “The Gut Stuff” is now available published by Pavilion books. Their book is jam packed full of seriously amazing content from a whole selection of incredible experts. They told me “we want everyone to think of their gut health like they do cleaning their teeth”. I highly recommend that you take a look at the content of this guide as it really is a fascinating and fun read.
Fun is definitely a word I would use to describe Alana and Lisa. I thoroughly enjoyed our chat and felt as though I had known them for years after just the first five minutes of talking to them both. Such warm, inviting and clearly smart girls with so much talent, huge hearts and huge passion to help people and give back. They have had huge success already in their careers but I know that The Gut Stuff is really what matters to them the most and getting their message out there to help people from all walks of life is truly important. I am 100% on board and wish them all the luck in the world. After all, without health, life is extremely difficult.
I caught up with the Mac Twins recently, during this third lockdown, and asked them a few more questions.
What have you been up to since we last talked?
Feels like so long ago now. We’ve launched our new book and products so it has been a pretty mad time – we basically have heads down at our desks and look up and the day has gone!
Lisa and Alana’s book, released 28th January 2021.
They have gathered the experts to arm you with practical tools and tips in all things “gut” covering everything from fermentation to immunology and providing you with a much needed insight into everything they feel you all deserve to know.
Now in our 3rd official lockdown, can you tell me how this one compares with the first for you?
There has been more of a resignation and we all know what we have to do now. We’ve been trying to look at it like a hibernation and stay positive.
What do you believe your experience of 2020 has taught you?
Slow down, enjoy the simple things and never take socialising for granted ever again!
Moving forward, is there anything you will approach differently, having experienced all that we have during this pandemic?
Taking time to “smell the roses” and never underestimate the power of people and community.
Many have found this time incredibly tough for so many reasons. What would you say has been the hardest part of it for you to deal with?
A lot of people are in this situation – our loved ones being alone and not being able to see them has been the hardest.
I hope that you and your loved ones have fared well during this difficult time. Is there anything positive from this Covid experience that you will be able to reflect upon for the rest of your life?
A new found gratitude for what we do have.
Good Fibrations…
Last November The Gut Stuff launched their brand new snack for your gut, the '“Good Firations” bar. 9/10 people are not getting enough fibre, which is a recommended 30 grams a day! There is a whole third of your daily intake of fibre contained in just one of these vegan and gluten free bars of yummy goodness.
Article and portraits by Dawn Collins
Stock photo’s provided by The Gut Stuff
