Throttle said:
if by gasoline, you mean something that could blow the car up... i'm reading gary taubes new book (good calories/bad calories) and he essentially argues what you've been arguing for a long time, WBA, that carbs are entirely unnecessary to human health, and are linked to excess body fat.
the human genotype evolved without agricultural carbs (wholegrain or otherwise) for eons on just protein and fat and vegetables/fruit.. agricultural carbs ARE entirely unnecessary for health.
also, heart disease, obesity, cholesterol issues and diabetes ONLY came to the surface since the agricultural era.. no coincidence. obesity rates climbed since the lowfat craze in the 70s/80s - modern society is fatter now because fats were branded the enemy and avoided like the plague, so people sourced the majority of their calories from carbs; look what happened.
however given the agricultural industry and the 'healthy' lowfat industries, I doubt carbs will ever disappear, and dieters will feel and look terrible sipping on their sugar-laden slimfast shakes and lowfat desserts, losing weight but not improving body composition (becoming a small fat person instead of a big fat person).
why do you think fats taste so good? the body needs them, therefore it craves them (that's my excuse anyway). no-one craves actual sugar, they crave the sugar high which comes and goes..
however for bodybuilding/strength training carbs do have their place, but should be utilised when they can only benefit and not detriment your health and body. that said, you could build a great physique/strength base on only pre-agricultural carbs as well, it's just not as easy.