Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova has reportedly “died of starvation” after subsisting exclusively off a diet of exotic fruit in Malaysia, according to her friends and family.
The 39-year-old Russian national — who frequently promoted raw foods on social media where she was known to her millions of viewers on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram as Zhanna D’Art — reportedly passed away after finally seeking medical treatment during a tour in Southeast Asia.
“A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph,” one unidentified friend stated. “They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified.”Her friend added, “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.” 
Samsonova’s mother attributed her daughter’s passing to “cholera-like infection.” However, her official cause of death has not yet been declared.
Meanwhile, a friend claimed that for the last seven years, the Russki had only eaten the giant, sweet jackfruit and durian, a spiky, mace-like fruit known for its custardy meat and noxious odor.“I see my body and mind transform every day,” Samsonova had previously gushed while describing her restrictive eating regimen. “I love my new me, and never move on to the habits that I used to use.”
The foodfluencer said her raw foods regimen was reportedly inspired by seeing “peers” who looked a lot older than their ages, which she attributed to their “junk food” diets.
Zhanna’s family is currently awaiting a medical report and a death certificate that will determine her official cause of death.Samsonova wouldn’t be the first to starve to death from a raw foods diet.Last year, vegan Florida mother, Sheila O’Leary, 38, was sentenced to life in prison after starving her 18-month-old-son to death by feeding him only small amounts of fruits and vegetables.
