The online vegan community is reeling after the sudden death of **Zhanna Samsonova**, a 27-year-old influencer who built a massive following promoting an “extreme raw food lifestyle.” Known to her hundreds of thousands of followers for her strict fruit-based vegan diet, Samsonova — who went by the name @ZhannaDako — reportedly died of starvation-related complications after adhering to her controversial regimen for years.
As BBC News reported, Samsonova had spent the past five years documenting her meals online — mostly consisting of raw fruits, sprouted seeds, and juices. She often claimed the diet had “healing powers” and told fans she hadn’t eaten cooked food in over four years. Friends say she became increasingly frail in recent months, refusing medical help despite visible warning signs of malnutrition.
Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova, known as @ZhannaDako, has died at 27 after living on an extreme raw diet of fruit and juices. — @BBCWorld
According to Reuters, Samsonova collapsed while visiting Malaysia and was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead shortly after arrival. Medical officials cited “severe exhaustion and protein deficiency” as contributing factors, though an autopsy is still pending. “Her body was in a state of extreme depletion,” one medical examiner told reporters. “She had no reserves left.”
Samsonova’s death has reignited global debate over the dangers of extreme diet trends. Nutrition experts speaking to CNN said her eating habits went far beyond standard veganism, bordering on self-starvation. “Raw veganism isn’t inherently dangerous,” said dietitian Dr. Amanda Lee. “But when taken to extremes — cutting out all fats, proteins, and cooked foods — it becomes unsustainable and deadly.”
Friends and followers say Samsonova’s obsession with purity intensified during the pandemic. A former roommate told The New York Times that Zhanna refused to eat or drink anything that wasn’t “living energy.” “She’d go days just drinking juice from jackfruit or coconut water,” the friend said. “She believed cooking killed food’s spirit.”
“She believed cooked food was poison,” says friend of Zhanna Samsonova, 27, who died following a raw fruit diet. — @nytimes
Despite her alarming appearance in recent videos — where followers noticed her gaunt frame and hollow cheeks — Samsonova dismissed concerns. In one now-viral clip shared on Instagram, she told fans: “People think I’m sick because they don’t understand detox. This is what true health looks like — light and clean.”
But health professionals say her message was anything but healthy. As The Guardian noted, her story underscores the growing influence of “wellness extremism” on social media, where dietary purity often becomes a competitive form of self-discipline. “It’s wellness turned into religion,” one researcher said. “And it can be deadly.”
Samsonova’s family, who live in Russia, told Al Jazeera they had begged her to return home for treatment. “We knew she was weak,” her mother said tearfully. “But she believed she was cleansing her body. She said medicine was poison.” They revealed she hadn’t seen a doctor in more than five years, relying instead on online detox methods and fasting retreats in Southeast Asia.
Zhanna Samsonova’s mother says her daughter refused medical care, insisting she was “purifying” her body. — @AlJazeera
Her death has also prompted criticism of influencers who promote extreme diets without medical supervision. A Rolling Stone editorial accused social media algorithms of rewarding dangerous content. “The thinner she got, the more viral her videos became,” the piece said. “Platforms are complicit in pushing suffering as inspiration.”
On TikTok, thousands of users have reposted clips of Samsonova with captions like “This isn’t wellness” and “Stop normalizing starvation.” As Insider reported, some creators have begun tagging her videos with #FoodFreedom and #EatToLive in protest of toxic diet culture. “Her death isn’t about veganism,” one commenter wrote. “It’s about obsession disguised as discipline.”
“Her story shows how online purity culture can destroy people,” writes Rolling Stone. — @RollingStone
In a tragic twist, Samsonova’s final post — uploaded just days before her death — featured a video of her smiling with the caption: “Feeling more alive than ever. Fruit is life.” Fans now flood that comment section with heartbreak and disbelief. “You were too kind, too trusting,” one wrote. “You deserved better guidance.”
Nutrition experts say her death should serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers of misinformation in the wellness industry. “We’re seeing influencers with no medical background promote restrictive diets that can literally kill,” said Dr. Laura Espinosa, speaking to NBC News. “Social media has made pseudoscience profitable — and deadly.”
Zhanna Samsonova’s story has already sparked calls for greater accountability from both influencers and the platforms that amplify them. But for those who followed her, the loss feels deeply personal — the end of a life that, in her own words, was dedicated to “becoming pure light.”
One fan’s comment under her final video has since gone viral: “You chased purity until it took you away. Rest in peace, Zhanna. You were beautiful, even when you couldn’t see it.”