'Vegan' influencer Zhanna Samsonova who died after adopting 'extreme' raw fruit diet ‘hadn’t drunk water in six years’

1 August 2023, 19:10 | Updated: 2 August 2023, 12:01

A raw food influencer who died from ‘starvation and exhaustion’ after switching to an extreme diet could ‘barely walk’ in the lead up to her death.

Zhanna Samsonova, 39, was reportedly ‘barely’ able to walk and hadn’t drunk water for more than six years in the years leading up to her death.

The Russian influencer, known as Zhanna D’art online, died on July 21 while in intensive care at a hospital in Malaysia.

Her official cause of death has not been declared, but her mother is reported to have said she succumbed to a ‘cholera-like infection’ made worse by her restrictive diet. Her family is awaiting final medical reports and the certificate that will establish the cause of death.

Read More: 'She did not listen to me': Mum of influencer Zhanna Samsonova who died after adopting raw fruit diet shares anguish

Ms Samsonova’s extreme diet consisted predominantly of raw fruit and vegetable juices, which left her struggling to perform simple tasks such as climbing a set of stairs.

Friends claimed that she hadn’t drunk water for more than six years before her death, as she replaced it with fruit and vegetable juices.

She had been travelling across Asia the past 17 years, but left friends “horrified” when they realised just how much she had deteriorated, adding she became “only bones” and was practically bed-bound.

“I watched her journey to death for seven years. About five months ago, I met Zhanna in Sri Lanka and she had a haggard look,” Olga Chernyaeva , one of the influencer's friends, told Russian newspaper Novye Izvestia.

“Her legs were swollen... It was amazing that she was still moving - I think she did it through pain.”

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Friends said they desperately pleaded with the influencer to seek medical help but it “was impossible to convince her on certain issues”.

“I tried to talk to her, to convince her to seek help from doctors, to take tests. I showed her her body in the mirror and in photographs of past years. But Zhanna's character was not simple, it was impossible to convince her on certain issues,” Ms Chernyaeva continued.

“She was in bed for almost a month. If she got up, it was very difficult for her to walk - it took several minutes to overcome one step of the stairs.

“I brought her fruits every morning - it was impossible to get her to eat something else. Boolean arguments didn't work. Zhanna believed that death does not exist.”

While another friend told Russian outlet 116.ru: “They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified.

“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."

Her mother Vera Samsonova told news outlets she did not approve of her daughter's diet and tried to convince her to incorporate more balanced meals into her life.

The 39-year-old started out on a vegan diet before moving to more extreme meals with just raw fruit and veg.

Friends claimed that for the last seven years she had eaten nothing but jackfruit and the tropical fruit durian, known for its overpowering smell.

“You don’t need to be a doctor to understand where this will lead,” one friend said.

She used social media to describe her raw diet, saying: “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.”

In her last Instagram post seven weeks ago she was excited about the start of durian season in Thailand.

She wrote: “It’s that fabulous time of year again – Durian Season in Thailand! Wake Up And Smell the Durian! For all you durian lovers out there, isn’t it just the best? And for those who haven’t yet experienced the joy of durian, you’re in for a wild ride!”