Dr. Emily Frank - Chef and Physician Extraordinaire

On Tuesday night, I had the honor of attending a dinner and talk given by Dr. Emily Frank at her lovely home in Carmel. For those of you who know Emily, you also know that she is a very gifted internal medicine physician, who has a passion for women's health issues. As if that wasn't enough, Emily is also a fantastic cook, and she is furthering that past time by attending culinary school. She also happens to be my older sister.

About twenty OPTIONS Class Nine members and OPTIONS Alumnae members attended. We enjoyed a menu of appetizers that Emily prepared, including blueberry and brie shortbread tarts, goat cheese, caramelized onion and candied walnut pizza, gazpacho with shrimp, tuna tartar, and dark chocolate, among other treats. Emily prepared all these delicious goodies from scratch with ingredients that were vitamin rich and contained healthful qualities such as antioxidants.

Emily's theme was wellness for women and she focused our conversation on the recommendations that we should all keep in mind as we take care of ourselves. We discussed everything from the amount of vitamin D we should all be taking to whether the BRCA testing is a reliable screening tool for the chances of developing breast cancer. One of the common themes from the evening was the question of whether we would alter our behavior knowing the out come of these types of diagnostic tools. Even if we knew we carried the gene to develop breast cancer, would we do anything differently? The recommendations for the general public are that BRCA testing is not a reasonable exam because of the cost balanced against the likelihood of preventing disease. That then begs the question should cost be a factor when determining who is entitled to good medical testing? What tests are excessive and may lead to unnecessary treatment, regardless of cost? In this climate of complex debate regarding health care, our discussion seems even more timely.

Another reoccurring theme throughout the evening was nutrition. Emily mentioned that the issue of nutrition, and more particularly weight loss has come up every time she speaks to women on the topic of wellness. In our discussion, we talked about nutrition and weight loss in the context of what diets Emily would recommend, what supplements were safe and effective, and how to balance our love of good food against our desires to be a size four.

It was interesting to contrast our questions against the questions posed to Emily when she spoke to the Professional Women's Group at Dress for Success. These women aren't any different than us in that they want to know more about their bodies, their diets, and improve and extend their lives and the lives of their families. What is different is that Emily had to tailor her recommendations to the PWG women because of their tight budgets and limited access to fresh produce and healthy food. Jennifer had a great recommendation that perhaps Emily would go to Double 8 or the downtown Kroger before she speaks to PWG again so that she can see the meager food options at the stores in which these women shop.

And that is what is so great about Women's Fund. On Tuesday night we had the opportunity to better ourselves by listening to a dynamic, engaging, and informed speaker who gave us specific recommendations on how to improve our health and wellness. However, Women's Fund's commitment to women and girls in need still found its way into our discussion, and we all paused to think about how lucky we are that we can afford those shiny Honey Crisp apples at Whole Foods. Women's Fund helps us balance the benefits of our lives against the responsibility to remember and understand women in need residing in Central Indiana.

Thanks you Emily for a fascinating (and delicious!) evening.