Russian Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova has died at the age of 39. The social media influencer reportedly died due to starvation, as she was subsisting entirely on a raw vegan diet.
The foodfluencer, who often used to share raw food images on her social media for over a million viewers across different platforms, took her last breath on July 21. According to the New York Post, she had to seek medical treatment during her Southeast Asia tour after which she passed away.
One unidentified person told Newsflash, “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,” he added.
Her friend further said, “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.”
The actual cause of her death has not been declared, but her mother attributed a ‘cholera-like infection’ to her daughter’s passing.
The Kasan native, a proponent of uncooked herbivorous fare, claimed that she ate a completely new vegan diet over the last four years. She was consuming just “fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices.”
The social media influencer said her raw vegan diet was reportedly inspired by seeing “peers” who looked a lot older than their ages, who she believes consumed junk food.
The foodfluencer often used to share raw diet posts and describe them as, “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.”
According to the Healthline report, a raw food diet has several benefits including weight loss, improved heart health and a lower risk of diabetes, but the regimen also has some downside if not planned well.