Instagram influencer who advocated for uncooked-herbivorous diet dies at the age of 39

Russia based Zhanna Samsonava had subsisted merely on exotic fruits in Malaysia for some months and apparently died of starvation. Her promotion of raw food earned her fame on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. She died on July 21st, when midway of her south-east Asia trip she was admitted into a medical facility for immediate intervention. A few months prior to this the Sri Lankan authorities had her deported during a tour when it was noticed that her legs had become swollen with lymph but she managed another tour. 

Her mother has given a statement saying that she was infected with a “Cholera-like infection”. 

She advocated for a raw vegan diet consisting of fruits, sunflower seed sprouts, fruits and juices. She had claimed that she could observe her mind and body transform on a daily basis. Her motivation was wanting to not end up like others of her generation who looked much older than their age would suggest. 

Health experts suggest that although raw food has its advantages there are also potential pitfalls of basing one’s diet solely on that. The foremost among these are a potential deficiency in Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin-D.