Alvenia Fulton facts for kids

Alvenia Moody Fulton (born May 17, 1906 – died March 5, 1999) was an American expert in healthy eating and natural health. She taught many people about the power of good nutrition and natural healing methods.

Early Life and Learning

Alvenia Fulton was born on May 17, 1906, in Pulaski, Tennessee. Her parents owned a large farm and used natural remedies like roots and herbs for health. When she was young, Alvenia worked as a practical nurse, a schoolteacher, and a midwife. Later, she went to Tennessee State Normal College. She decided to become a minister and studied at Greater Payne Theological Seminary in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the first woman to attend and graduate from that school! She then became one of the first female ministers in the A.M.E. Church's Northern Alabama Conference, leading three churches. By the early 1950s, she moved to Chicago, Illinois.

Natural Health and Nutrition

For many years, Alvenia Fulton struggled with her own health. In 1954, she was in the hospital twice. She had bleeding duodenal ulcers and also uterine fibroid tumors. She felt that regular medical treatments were not helping her enough. So, she started going to talks by experts like Paul Bragg and Gayelord Hauser. They taught about nutrition and naturopathy, which focuses on natural ways to heal the body.

Alvenia said that drinking raw cabbage juice helped cure her ulcers. She also said that fasting (not eating for a period of time) helped her tumors. She wanted to share what she learned about healthy eating with others. In 1955, she left her work as a minister. She opened the Pioneer Natural Health Center in her Chicago home. In 1957, she opened a store called the Fultonia Health Food and Fasting Center. The store sold healthy foods like salads, soups, juices, and vegetarian chili. It also offered special mixtures and herb pills made by Fulton. One naturopath described it as a "homespun kitchen that exploded all over the place."

Most of Fulton's customers were from her local community. Her work became more widely known in 1966. That year, she sent a special salad to Dick Gregory. He was a famous comedian and activist who was running for mayor of Chicago. At first, he was worried about the salad. But then he realized it was a way for Fulton to promote her health center. He and his wife visited her store and had a health talk with her. Dick Gregory became her most famous client. She taught him about fasting techniques. He later used these techniques during his political protests. Other well-known clients included Bill Walton, Ben Vereen, and Roberta Flack.

Alvenia Fulton also wrote several books. These included Vegetarianism: Fact or Myth (1974) and Fasting Made Simple (1979). She also wrote Dick Gregory's Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat (1973) with Dick Gregory. She had her own radio show on WVON. She also gave talks at colleges and appeared on television.

Later Life and Legacy

Alvenia Fulton continued to work even into her 90s. In 1992, a part of West 63rd Street in Chicago was named Dr. Alvenia Fulton Drive in her honor. She passed away on March 5, 1999, at the age of 92, in Chicago's Holy Cross Hospital.

In 2019, writer Travis A. Weisse called Alvenia Fulton a "pioneering advocate." He said she was important for bringing ideas about natural health and fasting to the Black community in cities. She helped make these health ideas understandable and available to many people.