An influencer has reportedly died of 'starvation and exhaustion' after living off a raw vegan diet.
Zhanna Samsonova had spent the past four years eating an exclusively raw vegan diet consisting of ‘fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juice’.
The Russian passed away at the age of 39.
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She went by the name Zhanna D’art online and was a well-known influencer in the vegan community.
Zhanna was living in Southeast Asia, where she created videos and content promoting raw vegan food on a ‘new level’.
Her Instagram bio, where she had 10.6k followers, described her as: “Raw plant based chef, recipes developer, food stylist.”
The influencer’s friends said she switched to a more restrictive diet in recent months, leaving her needing to seek medical treatment.
“A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph,” one unnamed 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.”
Zhanna’s mother, Vera, told Russian newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan that she passed away on 21 July from a ‘cholera-like infection’ exacerbated by ‘exhaustion of the body by a vegan diet’.
Zhanna had previously been open about her eating regimen, as she said: “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.”
While a raw food diet can have multiple health benefits, according to Healthline, there are negatives to a solely raw diet. This includes deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D. This could also cause B12 levels to plummet, which could - in the long term - result in anaemia, nervous system damage, infertility and heart disease.
A study published earlier this month in the Journal of Nutrition found that 100 percent of participants on a raw vegan diet ingested less than the recommended 2.4mcg of vitamin B12 per day.
Zhanna’s official cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article and would like to speak with someone in confidence, call the BEAT Eating Disorders helpline on 0808 801 0677. Helplines are open 365 days a year from 9am–8pm during the week, and 4pm–8pm on weekends and bank holidays. Alternatively, you can try the one-to-one webchat
Jess Battison