There's a wealth of information on ketogenic (low to no carb) diets: http://www.reddit.com/r/keto
Everyone serious about this understands that carbs are the problem.
Everyone serious about this understands that carbs are the problem.
There's an initiative called the "Nutrition Science Initiative" (nusi.org) that apparently attempts to put an end to the debate with irrefutable research, which will finally convince everyone one way or the other. They seem to be still in the early stages.
The main points being (1) brain needs glucose, can't fuel any other way (2) glucose is needed for maximum muscle response so if you are fit/athletic in any way you can be short-changing your performance if you have no glycogen stores to tap for "burst fuel"
Not so: the brain can be fueled by ketone bodies, which the liver can create from fat.
P.S. I agree with your larger point that avoiding all carbs for many days at a time should only be done by people who have informed themselves of the risks (acidosis and kidney stones).