Paul Joseph Edmond Carton (12 March 1875 – 20 October 1947) was a French physician, naturopath and practitioner of vegetarianism.

He became disillusioned with the medical establishment and took interest in naturopathy and vegetarianism which he claimed helped recover his health.

[2] Naturist vegetarianism was a dieting and health system that involved abstinence from alcohol, drugs, meat, processed foods, spices and tea.

Carton was influenced by Hippocrates and his conception of naturism was entirely opposed to nudism which he equated with moral degradation.

He argued that humans are constantly evolving as the universe does and that evolution has endowed people with vast states of conscience.

[3] Historian Stephen Harp has described Carton, Jacques Demarquette, and the Durville brothers as leading advocates of naturopathy during early 20th-century France.

[6] The best-selling novel Corps et âmes (Bodies and Souls), written by French writer Maxence Van der Meersch and published in 1943, was inspired by the character and medical doctrine of Carton.