Russian vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, also known by the handle Zhanna D'Art, died of starvation at the age of 39. Millions of fans followed the Russian national on social media sites like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram where she routinely pushed raw foods. After finally receiving medical attention while on a trip to Southeast Asia, she reportedly passed away on July 21.

Zhanna's friend recalled to Newsflash that "in Sri Lanka a few months ago, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph." She was sent home to receive treatment. But she took off again. She said that she was 'frightened when I first saw her in Phuket'. The friend added, “I lived one floor above her and every day I feared finding her lifeless body in the morning."

Zhanna has long been a vegan who only ate raw foods and constantly promoted them on social media. She only consumed fruits, liquids, smoothies, and sprouted sunflower seeds. Zhanna apparently decided to become a vegan after noticing that her friends eating habits were making them appear older than they actually were. Samsonova's mother claimed that a "cholera-like infection" was to blame for her daughter's demise. Her official cause of death has not yet been disclosed, yet.

While there is a lot of push around veganism and eating raw foods which do have many benefits, an unplanned diet like this can cause a lot of health issues as opposed to the benefits. Vitamin D and calcium deficiencies are extremely common in people who consume such a diet. Additionally, this may result in insufficient B12 levels, which, rather ironically, can cause heart disease, anaemia, harm to the neurological system, and infertility.