Vegan influencer and Instagram celebrity Zhanna D’Art unexpectedly died last week. .The cause? Starvation, after years of following a completely raw vegan diet of sunflower seed sprouts, fruit smoothies and juices. .The New York Times reported the ‘foodfluencer’ fell ill during a tour of Southeast Asia and succumbed after seeking medical treatment in Malaysia..According to her mother, Vera Samsonova, her daughter contracted a cholera-like infection that was exacerbated by her 'extreme' diet of exotic fruit..Samsonovatold the Russian newspaper Vechernyna Kazan she had tried to persuade her to give up veganism, to no avail..D’Art had previously worked as a blogger in a vegan cafe before becoming a social media star with more than 10,000 Instagram followers and sharing what she described as “healthy” recipes on her profile. . Vegan bloggerZhanna D’Art .She had previously been a ‘lacto-pescatarian’ — a vegetarian who eats fish and dairy — but completely switched to fruits and sprouts about four years ago..D’Art claimed she hadn’t drank water in more than six years, replacing it with fruit and vegetable juices..“Despite the fact that I cook fancy raw dishes, I eat very simply myself. My food is simple, no oil, no salt, no dehydrated food and no protein,” she wrote in a post. “Today for lunch I have delicious avocado kefir, sweet cherry tomatoes and ripe avocado. Bon appetit.“.At the time of her death she could barely walk and friends told the Russian tabloid they had become concerned for her well-being and appearance in recent months, after she suffered a stomach infection in June..“When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified. I lived on the floor above and was afraid to find her corpse every day in the morning,” one said.. Vegan bloggerBlogger Zhanna D’Art days before her death. .Although vegan diets have been promoted as healthy, eliminating consumption of animal products can cause nutritional deficiencies of vitamins and minerals such as B-12, Omega-3, calcium, zinc, iron and magnesium, not to mention high-quality protein..These deficiencies can in turn lead to increased risk for certain types of cancer, stroke, bone fractures and premature birth..Avoiding consumption of animal-sourced food may also be related to higher rates of depression and anxiety..Hair loss, weak bones, muscle wasting, skin rashes, hypothyroidism and anemia are other issues that have been observed in those strictly following a vegan diet..A study by St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in September of last year found that a 'plant-forward' omnivorous whole food diet is healthier than a vegan or vegetarian regime and especially compared to the standard American diet of highly processed, low-fibre, high-calorie, sugary foods..“As fundamental as diet is to health, you need to keep in mind the diet for which we’ve been adapted genetically, “said James O’Keefe, MD, the study’s lead author and director of preventive cardiology at St. Luke’s. .“Animal-based foods have been an important part of the human diet for at least three million years. Eliminating all animal foods would be like deciding you’re going to feed a tiger tofu and expect that it’s going to be healthy," said O'Keefe.."If you want an organism to thrive, you should feed it the diet for which it’s been genetically adapted via evolution down through the ages.”
