Tamera Mowry-Housley is relying on Tia Mowry-Hardrict to get better — but not in the way you might think!
After Tamera, 40, recently came down with an illness and desperately searched for remedies, she finally turned to her twin sister.
Instead of suggestions for medicine or herbal remedies, Tia provided Tamera with some breast milk as she had just read an article suggesting it can be beneficial for adults.
While the thought of drinking a woman’s breast milk isn’t most people’s go to when they aren’t well, The Real host had nothing but praise for her sister’s secretions.
Recording a video on her Instagram, Tamera held a coffee cup filled with the milk and declared it the “best milk” she’s ever tried, and claimed she was already on the mend.
“Oh my gosh, Tia, this is amazing,” Tamera said in the clip as she held up the cup of liquid. “Your breast milk is the best milk I’ve ever tried in my life, oh my god.”
She also captioned the video, which altered her face and voice through a silly filter, with, “Well, I do feel better ”
Meanwhile, Tia — who welcomed her daughter in May last year — found humor in the situation and posted the video of her sick sister on her Instagram, as well.
“Soooo, my sister is desperate for some healing,” she wrote. “She’s sicky poo and I sent her an article on how breast milk has healing properties and was okay with drinking my #breastmilk.”
“Ps, she’s had some before and I mean, she’s my twin,” she added. “Here’s what she had to say.”
Though Tamera was a fan of the breast milk, many experts have advised against adults drinking breast milk, as well as consuming milk from donors who sell it online, as it poses a major risk to people’s health.
The American Pregnancy Association says that breast milk for newborns contains the “perfect combination of proteins, fats, vitamins and carbohydrates” which is essential for their development. Adults, however, break down those nutritional aspects differently than babies, CBS News reported.
In addition, human breast milk can contain dangerous impurities, such as infectious diseases including hepatitis, HIV and syphilis, and bacterial food-borne illnesses if the milk is not properly sanitized and/or stored, CBS News said.
Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian nutritionist in New York, also echoed those sentiments.
“Human breast milk [is] designed to nourish babies — not grown [adults],” Zied told Today. “Bottom line: I find the idea of an adult using human breast milk for health benefits unsubstantiated by science.”
For those who are purchasing breast milk from donors online, they run another risk of ingesting whatever prescription drugs, illicit drugs, alcohol, and food the mother had consumed, according to Dr. Sarah Steele of Queen Mary University of London, who co-authored an editorial in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
“Human breast milk is not delivering the nutritional benefit it touts online,” Steele told CBS News.
Tia welcomed her daughter Cairo Tiahna with husband Cory Hardrict on May 5 and has been soaking up every moment of motherhood since.
In August, Tia told PEOPLE that motherhood has strengthened her relationship with her twin sister, who also has 6-year-old son Aden John Tanner and 3-year-old daughter Ariah Talea with husband Adam Housley.
“Our lives are very busy. She lives up north and I live in Southern California. But what’s so amazing is how our children are what really, really brings us closer together,” she said. “It is the most beautiful thing to see.”
“When you see the kids play together it’s just so amazing and beautiful,” she continued. “It makes me realize how blessed we really are.”
“No matter how busy we get or how we have our separate lives with our separate families, we have children that really bring us together,” Tia explained. “The kids are so close and get a long so well. They act more like siblings.”