Vegan raw food influencer who ate all-fruit diet allegedly dies of malnutrition, infections

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A vegan social media influencer whose videos about her raw tropical fruit diet had accumulated billions of views on TikTok has died at age 39.

Zhanna Samsonova, a Russian blogger, who had been living and working across Southeast Asia for 17 years, was known as Zhanna D’Art on social media.

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Samsonova claimed she had been subsisting on a completely raw vegan diet for more than a decade. In a social media post dated September 2022, Samonova wrote it had been five years since she switched to a “fully fruit-based-low-fat diet,” with staple items being jackfruit and durian, a fruit with a noxious odour that has led to it being banned in some public spaces across Asia.

Samsonova reportedly died last month in Malaysia, where she had been seeking medical treatment.

In her last post on Instagram, dated June 10, Samsonova celebrated the durian season in Thailand.

“It’s that fabulous time of year again,” she wrote. “Wake Up And Smell the Durian!”

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Samsonova claimed she avoided eating protein, salt and oil. A friend of Samsonova’s also told Russian media that she had not drunk water in six years, opting for fruit and vegetable juice instead.

After switching to a raw fruit diet, Samsonova claimed that she hadn’t been sick in years.

“My mood is better, my mind clearer, I have more energy, easier to sleep, easier to wake up, I feel more stable emotionally,” she wrote on Instagram.

While no official cause of death has been released, reports state that the influencer was suffering from malnutrition and infections.

Samsonova’s mother reportedly told Russian state media that her daughter had died of a “cholera-like infection,” while some of her friends pointed to malnutrition.

“It was scary to look at her, to be honest. Her hands were thin, like those of my 12-year-old sister,” a friend told 116.RU, a Russian news website. “But she was always very cheerful, like a child, she was happy when people praised her cooking.”

Another friend told Newsflash, that Samsonova had appeared exhausted when they met up in Sri Lanka a few months ago and had visible infections on her legs.

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“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.”

Samsonva also claimed to clear a COVID-19 infection with “dry fasting,” where no food or liquid is consumed.

“I started to heal myself with dry fasting,” she said, The Telegraph reports. “I have been practising this method for a long time. I overcame this infection despite my unconventional treatment, which many condemn.”

Her dietary choices led to her feeling ostracized on some occasions, she noted on social media, including on visits to Russia.

“I feel like Jesus, who was not recognized for his knowledge and crucified on the cross for bringing knowledge and light to people,” she wrote on Instagram.

Raw vegan diets do hold some benefits, according to HealthLine, such as improved digestion and a lowered risk of diabetes, but can also be harmful if they’re not well-planned, leading to vitamins and minerals deficiencies, particularly with Vitamin B12, calcium and Vitamin D

A lack of protein and too few calories can also lead to other health issues, including weakening bones and muscles.

Samsonov’s family is now working to get her body returned home and her mother is asking people to “stop writing bad things,” about her, reports The Telegraph.

“She is already dead, she is no more,” said Vera Samsonova. “I fought for many years (but) she did not listen to her mother.”