20-Year-Old Russian Writer Tries Dry Fasting Diet, Starves To Death In Her Apartment

A 20-year-old woman died in Russia last week due to starvation after adopting a "dry fasting diet."

Adeline Sheldon, a writer, was found dead in her rented flat in the district of Zyuzino, Moscow, on Feb. 22, reports Yahoo News Australia.

The report says the landlord went to the flat after he failed to get in touch with Sheldon. He tried to open the door with his key, but found it was locked from inside. A locksmith arrived to break open the door and they found Sheldon on the floor, after having died almost a week ago.

Emergency services were contacted but they did not find traces of violent death. According to local media, Sheldon appeared to have starved herself to death.

Her diary, which was retrieved from the home, suggested the young writer was on a dry fasting diet, wherein she cut out water and food, in a bid to lose weight. There was no food in her home.

According to a news report, her mother was well aware of her new diet and had warned her about the risks.

Her mother said: “I always told her that I did not approve of her dieting. “You need to eat normally. And in my opinion, she absolutely did not need to correct anything in her appearance. What problems could there be when she had such a shape and appearance? But how can you forbid her? She was an adult, she lived separately. She was completely immersed in her creative world.”

Sheldon, whose name was Alina Botalova, had asked her parents not to contact her as she was in a "period of intense writing." According to her parents and relatives, she might have become too weak to call emergency services for help, causing her to die alone in the apartment.

The dry fasting diet is considered risky as it could cause dehydration, urinary tract infections, kidney stones, organ failure, and even death, says a report by Los Angeles Times.

The diet stipulates complete abstaining from solid food or liquid calories and requires consuming no water or liquids of any kind for many hours or even days at a time.