There are no published trials of raw food diets in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The best we have are trials using vegan diets where there is some evidence of efficacy in promoting weight loss, lowering cholesterol levels and HbA1c levels. This 74 week trial by Neal Barnard et al showed that vegan diet was superior to the traditional diabetes diet [2]
Both diets were associated with sustained reductions in weight and
plasma lipid concentrations. In an analysis controlling for medication
changes, a low-fat vegan diet appeared to improve glycemia and plasma
lipids more than did conventional diabetes diet recommendations.
Whether the observed differences provide clinical benefit for the
macro- or microvascular complications of diabetes remains to be
established.
You will note that nothing is said about curing T2DM.
As for the very expensive DVD being promoted by the rawfor30days, then I think you're getting a raw deal. In the 5 minute video I watched, they used a Dr Gabriel Cousins who had his licence taken away in California ( but since reinstated ) and remains censured in New York. The documentary is filmed at his Tree of Life Rejuventation Center in Arizona. Note that he is ineligible for an Arizona medical license so has been practicing as a homeopath. [1] So, when at 0.29 in the trailer they say he's an MD, in some states this a misdemeanor when you haven't been granted a license to practice in that state.
The more interesting question though is how T2DM can be reversed. We now have 3 year trial data from the STAMPEDE study [3] from last month's (May 2014) NEJM.
We assessed outcomes 3 years after the randomization of 150 obese
patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes to receive either intensive
medical therapy alone or intensive medical therapy plus Roux-en-Y
gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. The primary end point was a
glycated hemoglobin level of 6.0% or less.
and it was found that gastric-bypass was better than gastric-sleeve which was better again than intensive medical treatment. Some of these subjects were able to achieve normal blood gluose levels off medication ( ie. reversal ).
Among obese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, 3 years of
intensive medical therapy plus bariatric surgery resulted in glycemic
control in significantly more patients than did medical therapy alone.
Analyses of secondary end points, including body weight, use of
glucose-lowering medications, and quality of life, also showed
favorable results at 3 years in the surgical groups, as compared with
the group receiving medical therapy alone.
The point of this is that T2DM is more likely to reverse with greater weight loss no matter how you achieve it. If you sequester 6 people onto a remote ranch and put them onto a calorie restricted raw food diet, or, you put them onto a Newcastle 600 kcalorie ( 500 kcals from Optifast sachets, 110 cals from non-starchy vegs ~ 600 cals ) diet for 8 weeks, then some of these people will greatly improve their diabetes. What is important is how sustainable these temporary dietary changes are as without intensive lifestyle modification that can be sustained in the future their T2DM is likely to relapse.
So, the point of all this is, yes, it's feasible a raw food diet for 30 days could potentially reverse T2DM, but only through the mechanism of severe caloric restriction.
[1] http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2008-04-10/news/arizona-s-homeopathic-board-is-the-second-chance-for-doctors-who-ve-lost-their-conventional-medical-licenses-in-other-states/3/
[2] Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJ, Turner-McGrievy G, Gloede L, Green A, Ferdowsian H. A low-fat vegan diet and a conventional diabetes diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled, 74-wk clinical trial. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2009 May;89(5):1588S-1596S. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.26736H. PubMed PMID: 19339401.
[3] Schauer PR, Bhatt DL, Kirwan JP, Wolski K, Brethauer SA, Navaneethan SD, Aminian A, Pothier CE, Kim ES, Nissen SE, Kashyap SR, . Bariatric surgery versus intensive medical therapy for diabetes--3-year outcomes. N. Engl. J. Med. 2014 May;370(21):2002-13. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1401329. PubMed PMID: 24679060.
[4] http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/newcastle-study-600-calorie-diet.html