Vegan raw food influencer Zhanna D'Art dies of starvation. Experts have a warning
It's important to maintain a healthy diet to achieve fitness goals, but extreme measures can lead to fatal consequences, as seen in the case of raw vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, who reportedly passed away due to starvation.
The details so far
Zhanna Samsonova, a 39-year-old Russian national living in Thailand, allegedly died after following a raw vegan diet for the past decade.
She had a substantial online presence, promoting her diet to nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram alone.
Zhanna was seeking medical treatment during a tour in Southeast Asia, according to local media outlet reports.
However, Samsonova's mother said that her daughter died of a "cholera-like infection." But we don't know the official reason so far.
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Zhanna Samsonova's extreme diet
dailyO scanned through Samsonova's Instagram and found that:
- She was on a raw diet (she didn't use to cook her meals)
- She was not eating salt or any 'fat' according to her Instagram
- She was not having a single drop of oil
- She even made dishes like Dumplings, Sushi without heat and used items like 'cocunut leather' or homemade raw "Marinara" sauce.
- Most of her meals comprised nothing but fruits.
Experts react
Dr Darshini Bali, a certified dietician from Noida says, "I think the raw vegan diet is extreme, and no kind of diet should be extreme."
She explains that not all kinds of carbs or fat are bad. and the vegan raw diet that Zhanna was following puts the "body under a lot of stress".
Dr Reema Madhian, a nutritionist and health and wellness consultant another dietician from Noida, explains that "our gut needs a variety of food, including saute, grill and just not only one kind."
According to her, vegan is not the wrong way, but you need to have a variety so that you can balance your meals. She also flags the issue of the increased amount of chemicals in our fruit and vegetables.
Samsonova described the raw food diet as plant-based, medicinal, a culinary trend, and a lifestyle. The basic principle is to consume foods in or very near their natural state.