Zhanna Samsonova, a 39-year-old vegan influencer who promoted raw foods on social media, reportedly died due to starvation after following a strict all-raw vegan diet for at least a decade, news reports said on Monday.The Russian national, known by her online moniker Zhanna DArt, passed away on July 21 during a tour in Southeast Asia, where she sought medical treatment. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raw food Creation by Zhanna Dart (@rawveganfoodchef) “A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph. They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified,” a friend of the influencer told news outlet Newsflash.The close friend recounted her concern, stating, “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 didnt make it.”While Vera Samsonova, the deceaseds mother, claimed that the influencers death was caused by a cholera-like infection, it is believed that her extreme vegan diet might have contributed to her demise. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raw food Creation by Zhanna Dart (@rawveganfoodchef) Vera Samsonova further revealed that Zhanna was scheduled to return home to Kazan on the day she passed away.For seven years, the influencer primarily consumed giant, sweet jackfruit and durian, a spiky fruit known for its custardy meat and pungent odour. Zhanna Samsonova expressed enthusiasm for her restrictive eating regimen, praising the transformation she experienced.“I see my body and mind transform every day. I love my new me, and never move on to the habits that I used to use,” Zhanna had said on her Instagram page.Insta vegan influencers friend blame diet for untimely deathHowever, despite the influencers enthusiasm about her diet, her friends voiced concerns about her dwindling health due to what they saw as an unhealthy diet choice.“You dont need to be a doctor to understand where this will lead,” a friend of hers told the media.“Zhannas 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.”Experts agree that while a raw foods diet can have benefits such as weight loss and improved heart health, it can also lead to deficiencies in calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12. The latter is crucial for a healthy nervous system and can result in anaemia and heart disease if not adequately consumed. A recent study found that 100% of participants on a raw vegan diet did not meet the recommended Vitamin B12 intake. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raw food Creation by Zhanna Dart (@rawveganfoodchef) Despite the potential downsides of her diet, some of Samsonovas followers refuse to believe that her eating choices played a role in her death, instead attributing it to chemicals in the fruit she consumed.The official cause of her death remains unknown at this time. The family is awaiting a medical report and death certificate to determine the official cause of Zhannas death while working to repatriate her body to Russia.
