Vegan influencer d.i.e.s at 39 after 6 years without water
Despite slowly withering away from her restrictive raw diet, 39-year-old Zhanna Samsonova refused to change her lifestyle, insisting that “death does not exist.” But life delivered a heartbreaking reminder in 2023 when the Russian influencer, who hadn’t consumed water in six years, allegedly died of “starvation and exhaustion.”
Born in Russia and later based in Southeast Asia, Zhanna Samsonova was a vocal advocate for the raw vegan lifestyle, that when properly planned can offer several impressive health perks.
“A raw vegan diet includes healthy fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains and legumes – which may lower diabetes and heart disease risk and aid weight loss and digestion when well planned,” Healthline reports.
Tragically, for Samsonova, 39, her diet was poorly planned and it evolved into something far more dangerous than just veganism – it was a strict regimen devoid of cooked foods and even water.
In fact, according to the Daily Mail, the influencer was “dry fasting” and hadn’t consumed water for more than six years, replacing it with fruit and vegetable juices.
“She ate only durian and jackfruit for seven years,” a friend told the publication of Samsonova’s poor diet. “You don’t need to be a doctor to understand where this will lead.”
‘Life is meaningless’
“It’s that fabulous time of year again – Durian Season in Thailand! Wake up and smell the durian!” the Russian-born influencer started in a June 10, 2023 post on Instagram, which recorded the woman’s dramatic transformation over the years.
Added to her message is a clip that shows her skinny fingers struggling to rip into the spiky fruit that’s known for its custardy meat and noxious odor. “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!”
At the time, Samsonova was in Thailand, one of her several stops on a 17-year adventure across Asia.
In early July, the food blogger shared a chilling social media post with the caption, “Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it’s meaningless.”
It was the last message she’d ever pen.
‘She chose this path’
On July 21, 2023, the vegan died in Malaysia of “starvation and exhaustion,” or a “cholera-like infection,” according to her mother Vera, 63.
“I fought for many years, [but] she did not listen to her mother,” Vera told the Russian news outlet 116RU.com. “She chose this path.”
The warnings from her mother went unheard, as did pleas from friends who described Samsonova as “skeletal” in her final weeks.
One even said she was “scary to look at.”
“Ms. Samsonova’s idle starvation was causing her to melt before our eyes, but she believed everything was fine,” said one unnamed pal. “Only her eyes, merry eyes, and gorgeous hair compensated for the dreadful sight of a body tortured by idiocy…Forgive me if it sounds harsh.”
Olga Chernyaeva explained that she begged her friend to “seek help from doctors, to take tests.”
“I showed her body in the mirror and in photographs of past years…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.”
Refusing to follow the advice of loved ones, Samsonova withered away.
“I watched her journey to death for seven years,” Chernyaeva lamented. “About five months ago, I met Zhanna in Sri Lanka and she had a haggard look. Her legs were swollen…It was amazing that she was still moving – I think she did it through pain.”
‘She’s already dead, she’s gone’
As news of her death spread, Samsonova’s fans jumped on social media to express their opinions.
“Why not to follow veganism,” writes one user on Instagram, while a second shares, “She died [because] she ate this way. Don’t do it!”
A third netizen offers, “Sometimes the purpose of a person’s life is to serve as a warning to others.”
Meanwhile Samsonova’s mother asked the online community to show some compassion and refrain from “this nastiness.”
“She’s already dead, she’s gone. People, stop writing bad things, it hurts me a lot. She’s already dead, why write more nastiness? People are sticking their dirty hands into my soul, they’re not doing bad things to her, they’re doing bad things to me,” Vera told 116RU.com.