Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova’s tragic death, linked to a strict raw fruit diet and water avoidance, has sparked important discussions about the dangers of extreme dietary choices.
Zhanna Samsonova, a Russian native and social media personality known as Zhanna D’Art, spent ten years following a raw plant-based diet consisting of fruits, sprouted sunflower seeds, juices, and smoothies.
In addition to her strict diet, the 39-year-old sometimes practiced “dry fasting,”, abstaining from food and liquids for extended periods.
According to her mother, who spoke to the Russian newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan, Samsonova’s extreme diet may have exacerbated a cholera-like illness that ultimately took her life. The influencer had over 10,000 Instagram followers and spent 17 years traveling through Asia.
While the official cause of death has not been confirmed, her family is currently facing bureaucratic challenges in returning her body to Russia.
Vera had tried persuading her daughter to adopt a more balanced diet, disapproving of her restrictive eating habits, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
Samsonova transitioned from veganism to consuming only raw fruits and vegetables, often sharing “healthy” recipes on Instagram.
In one clip, she shared her simple meal of cherry tomatoes and avocado with avocado juice.
“Despite the fact that I cook fancy raw dishes, I eat very simply myself. My food is simple, no oil, no salt, no dehydrated food and no protein,” she explained in a post.
Friends and family had warned her against such extreme dietary practices, but their advice went unheeded.
Tragically, her restrictive eating ultimately contributed to her death, which was reportedly caused by an infection worsened by her diet.
A friend, who knew Samsonova from Thailand, told Russian outlet 116.ru: “It was scary to look at her, to be honest, her hands were like those of my 12-year-old sister, thin.”
“They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified,” the friend stated.
“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,” they added.
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.”
One commenter on her most recent Instagram post expressed concern: “This is just pure starvation, not a healthy raw vegan diet. I’m sorry to hear it ended badly. I wish I could have helped you out of your eating disorder.”
For much of her vegan journey, Samsonova occasionally allowed herself fish and dairy, but she later restricted her diet exclusively to raw fruits and vegetables along with juice.
However, upon returning to Russia in 2021 after nine years abroad, she contracted COVID-19 despite ignoring all precautions.
“I was the category of people who wasn’t afraid to get infected with viruses and ignored all the precautions, because over the past ten years on raw plant-based diets I was in perfect health and I didn’t even get the usual seasonal cold. And ironically… I still got sick [with Covid] and was in bed for ten days.”
She finally exclusively ate raw fruit and vegetables along with juice, but over time, her restrictive eating pattern grew more extreme.
But when Ms. Samsonova returned to her native Russia in 2021 for the first time in nine years, she was struck down by coronavirus right away.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘I was the category of people who wasn’t afraid to get infected with viruses and ignored all the precautions, because over the past ten years on raw plant-based diets I was in perfect health and I didn’t even get the usual seasonal cold.’
Ms. Samsonova continued in an odd manner, saying: ‘I began to cure myself with dry fasting, since for a long time I have been practicing this method, as I can cure all ailments.’
‘The illness gradually began to recede, already the days of dry hunger and I was getting better and better every day… The most critical time is behind me I have overcome this disease despite my unconventional treatment which many condemn.’
