Ruminations: "Wake Up And Smell the Durian!"

"It's that fabulous time of year again. Wake Up And Smell the Durian!"
"My mood is better, my mind clearer, I have more energy, easier to sleep, easier to wake up, I feel more stable emotionally."
"I feel like Jesus, who was not recognized for his knowledge and crucified on the cross for bringing knowledge and light to people."
Zhanna Samsonova, Russian blogger, aka Zhanna D'Art

"It was scary to look at her, to be honest. Her hands were thin, like those of my 12-year-old sister. But she was always very cheerful, like a child , she was happy when people praised her cooking."
"A few months ago, in Sri Lanka, she already looked exhausted, with swollen legs oozing lymph. They sent her home to seek treatment. However, she ran away again. When I saw her in Phuket, I was horrified."
"I lived one floor above her and every day I feared finding her lifeless body in the morning. I convinced her to seek treatment, but she didn’t make it."
Unnamed friend

Samsonova with a section of durian, the spiky, pungent fruit that’s a delicacy throughout Southeast Asia.

A young woman, a Russian blogger, a food-and-lifestyle influencer, aged 39 has been reported to have died of malnutrition. She was a vegan social media personality who posted videos of her raw tropical fruit diet. Which is rather confusing, since there was a reference by a friend of hers, of how pleased she was when the public expressed admiration for her 'cooking'. Nonetheless she had millions of followers on TikTok and other popular social media sites.

Clearly, her view of life and nutrition, on moods and healthy eating was intriguing to a good many people. Her claim was to have devoted her mealtimes completely to a raw vegan diet of her very own devising. She had been living and working for 17 years across Southeast Asia, known on social media as Zhanna D'Art. As though to imply her mode of eating was an art form. And perhaps it was in the sense of being performative, and drawing the attention of a wide, admiring public.

None of whom, at this juncture it should be hoped, is committed to emulating the eating style of this woman who has met such an untimely end. She had consumed, according to her claims, raw fruits for over a decade, exclusively. In 2022 one of her social media posts boasted that she had switched to a "fully fruit-based-low-fat" diet five years earlier. The staples in her diet were jackfruit and durian, the latter emitting a noxious odour such that it has been banned in public spaces across Asia.

She had latterly been seeking medical treatment in Malaysia, where she died last month. On June 10, she had celebrated the durian season in Thailand, claiming she totally avoided protein, salt and oil. And nor, informed a friend, had she space for water in her diet. Instead fruit and vegetable juice provided the liquid in her diet, aside from the liquid contained in the fruit she consumed.

No official cause of death has yet been reported, while reports do state that the young woman was suffering from malnutrition and infections. According to her mother, she died of a "cholera-like infection", even as her friends cited malnutrition. One friend spoke of meeting up with her in Sri Linka several months back, and noting the visible infections on her legs. Zhanna D'Art noted on social media feeling ostracized, based on her diet, on visits to Russia.

Evidently there are some benefits to raw vegan diets that are sensibly balanced, leading to improved digestion and less risk of contracting diabetes. However, if not well-planned there can be deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Most particularly shortages in Vitamin B12, calcium and Vitamin D, imperative for good overall health. The essentials of good health were heavily compromised on this woman's restricted diet. Add to that an absence of protein and insufficient caloric intake and health issues come knocking.

"I started to heal myself [from COVID 19] with dry fasting. I have been practising this method for a long time."

"I overcame this infection despite my unconventional treatment, which many condemn."