Altari- the theory is that once you heat a food above 118-120 degrees, you begin to break down the nutrients.
I've been at around 80% raw the past few weeks and have been feeling fabulous (haven't lost any weight, though
). I actually lost most of my weight eating a fairly raw diet. I say that my plan was "inspired" by the raw diet
The standard raw diet is a vegan one and consists of sprouted grains and beans and vegetables as well as raw fruits and vegetables. For every SAD recipe, there's a raw one to go with it (spaghetti, burritos, soups, pizza, etc...) I'm a smoothie junky myself, green and otherwise.
I can't imagine being that far north and pulling it off. I know people do it, but I would imagine a lot of sprouting would be done to maintain it, which can be a lot of work.