“I’m so excited to see the amazing work being done by 10,000 Toes and I can’t wait to be a part of it!”

I have always been interested in health and natural medicine so it’s no surprise that I just love the work I do as a Naturopath.  My health niche is in pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes, and I’ve completed post-graduate studies to specialise in this area.  I’m fast becoming known as the Blood Sugar Naturopath!

A long-time passion since my teens was to volunteer overseas in health.  I was especially interested in going somewhere where the very basics of health checks (the things we take for granted!) are not accessible to most of the population.  My very first volunteering assignment was to beautiful Fiji to conduct health checks for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), specifically Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.  Imagine my shock and delight when I was asked by the volunteer organisation to become their Co-ordinator of Public Health and Nutrition, South Pacific!  Now, in between seeing clients in private practice in Australia, I lead teams of health and medical volunteers to remote areas of the South Pacific (Fiji and Vanuatu) to conduct health checks for NCDs several times per year.

I recently attended the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM) in Cairns and was chatting to one of the education attendees about this area of work that I love so much.  She literally jumped out of her skin and said, “You just HAVE to meet Pam!”.  And meet Pam I did.  Our connection was immediate and we were soon talking all things Fiji, health, Type 2 diabetes, volunteering and the challenges we face in wanting to turn the tide on Type 2 diabetes.  We have an aligned vision and strong mutual passion to empower, educate and encourage, not just Fijians, but the whole of the South Pacific in preventing Type 2 diabetes.  We also connected on a personal level sharing so many similarities throughout our life stories.

Networking with Pamela at the ASLM was an absolute highlight of the conference for me.  I’m so excited to see the amazing work being done by 10,000 Toes and I can’t wait to be a part of it.  I’m off to start my 10,000 Toes Ambassador training!

By: Carrun Squires
Naturopath, Clinical Nutritionist,
Diabetes Educator and Lifestyle Medicine Professional (IBLM).