Herbert McGolfin Shelton (October 6, 1895 – January 1, 1985)[1] was an American naturopath, alternative medicine advocate, author, pacifist, vegan,[2] and a supporter of rawism and fasting.

Shelton was nominated by the American Vegetarian Party to run as its candidate for President of the United States in 1956.

[5] Shelton attended Bernarr Macfadden's College of Physcultopathy in Chicago and interned at Crane's Sanatorium in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Shelton later continued post-graduate work at Peerless College of Chiropractic in Illinois and served an internship at Crandall Health School in Pennsylvania.

Shelton claimed that cooking food denatures it, and that a healthy body has the ability to restore itself from illness without medical intervention.

Although heavily criticized by his contemporaries for advocating fasting over medical treatment, Shelton's work served as an early influence for the raw food movement.

In the time that the school was in operation, over 40,000 people were treated for various ailments, with most recovering with the help of water fasting[citation needed].