Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova has reportedly “died of starvation” after subsisting exclusively off a diet of exotic fruit in Malaysia, according to her friends and family.
She was 39.
The Russian national — who frequently promoted raw foods on social media where she was known to her millions of viewers on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram as Zhanna D’Art — reportedly died July 21 after finally seeking medical treatment during a tour in Southeast Asia, according to local media outlet reports.
“A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph,” one unidentified friend told Newsflash. “They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified.”
Her friend added, “I lived one floor above her and every day I feared finding her lifeless body in the morning. I convinced her to seek treatment, but she didn’t make it.”
Samsonova’s mother attributed her daughter’s passing to “cholera-like infection.” However, her official cause of death has not been declared.
A proponent of uncooked herbivorous fare, the Kasan native claimed she ate a “completely raw vegan diet” for the last four years, consuming just “fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices.”
Meanwhile, a friend claimed that for the last seven years, Samsonova had only eaten the giant, sweet jackfruit and durian, a spiky, mace-like fruit known for its custardy meat and noxious odor.
“I see my body and mind transform every day,” Samsonova had gushed while describing her restrictive eating regimen. “I love my new me, and never move on to the habits that I used to use.”
The foodfluencer said her raw foods regimen was reportedly inspired by seeing “peers” who looked a lot older than their ages, which she attributed to their “junk food” diets.
She used social media to spread her raw diet doctrine, describing: “I eat simple food, although I have a lot of experience as a raw food chef. I love creating my own recipes and inspiring people to eat healthier.”
Unfortunately, her friends believe her so-called healthy food choices were to blame for her death.
“You don’t need to be a doctor to understand where this will lead,” said one pal of her all-durian and jack fruit diet.
“Zhanna’s idle stagnation was causing her to melt before our eyes, but she believed everything was fine,” theorized another. “Only her eyes, merry eyes, and gorgeous hair compensated for the dreadful sight of a body tortured by idiocy. Forgive me if it sounds harsh.”
While a raw foods diet can have multiple health benefits — including weight loss, improved heart health and a lower risk of diabetes — there are downsides to this regimen, especially when not well planned, according to Healthline.
These include deficiencies in calcium and Vitamin D, which are needed for strong bones. This can also lead to suboptimal B12 levels, which can result in anemia, nervous system damage, infertility and, somewhat paradoxically, heart disease.
A study published earlier this month in the Journal of Nutrition found that 100% of participants on a raw vegan diet ingested less than the recommended 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 per day.
Despite the potential downsides to Samsonova’s diet, many of her devoted followers refused to believe her eating choices led to her death, instead claiming that she was killed by chemicals in the fruit she ate.
Samsonova’s family is awaiting a medical report and a death certificate that will determine her official cause of death.
Samsonova wouldn’t be the first to starve to death from a raw foods diet.
Last year, vegan Florida mother Sheila O’Leary, 38, was sentenced to life in prison after starving her 18-month-old son to death by feeding him only small amounts of fruits and vegetables.
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