Vegan influencer ‘dies of starvation and exhaustion’ after moving to Sri Lanka and switching to an ‘extreme’ tropical fruit diet
- Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, 39, apparently died of ‘starvation’
- Samsonova, originally from Russia, ate a strict diet of raw foods and fruit
<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A vegan raw food influencer who lived on an ‘extreme’ diet of exotic fruit has reportedly died from starvation and exhaustion.
Zhanna Samsonova, originally from Russia, had been on the raw plant-based diet for 10 years that consisted of fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices.
There were also periods when the 39-year-old would practice ‘dry fasting’ – where she would refuse to eat or drink anything for days.
Samsonova, who hadn’t drunk water for more than six years and instead replaced it with fruit and vegetable juices, died on July 21 in Malaysia.
The influencer, who had over 10,000 Instagram followers and had been travelling across Asia for the past 17 years, reportedly died from a cholera-like infection that was exacerbated by ‘exhaustion of the body by a vegan diet’, her mother told Russian newspaper Vechernyaya Kazan.
Zhanna’s official cause of death has not yet been determined as her family try to get her body back to Russia amid bureaucratic delays.
Food influencer Zhanna Samsonova (pictured) who ate a strict raw food vegan diet allegedly died of ‘starvation and exhaustion’ on July 21
Originally from Russia, Zhanna had been living in South-East Asia eating a raw vegan diet consisting of ‘fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices’ for the past five years
The food blogger’s mother Vera Samsonova told local news outlets Zhanna was supposed to fly home to Kazan on the day of her death.
Read Related Also: Jax Taylor claims he wants ‘the best’ for Tom Sandoval after mocking former ‘Vanderpump Rules’ co-star
Vera did not approve of her daughter’s extreme diet and tried to convince her to introduce more balanced eating habits but she refused.
Speaking with Newsflash, an anonymous friend of Zhanna claimed they saw Zhanna a few months ago in Sri Lanka ‘looking exhausted’.
‘They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified,’ they said.
Her eating habits became worryingly restrictive in the last few months of her life according to her friends. Zhanna’s official cause of death has not yet been determined
In a post published on June 7, Zhanna said she was excited for fruit season in Thailand saying it was ‘time to gain weight’
‘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 had been following a vegan diet for about a decade starting out by allowing herself fish and dairy occasionally.
However over the years, her restrictive eating became more and more extreme with one friend claiming for the past seven years she would only eat durian, a spiky fruit known for its pungent smell, Time News reported.
Her Instagram feed shows different, however, and is filled with videos with tens of thousands of views with colourful raw dishes including soups, salads, fruits and even burgers and cakes.
In a post published on June 7, Zhanna said she was excited for fruit season in Thailand saying it was ‘time to gain weight’.
