Q: You've written that you use low-carb diets for 75% of your athletes, but said that it's not right for every genotype. So, how does the average guy tell if he's "right" for low carbs?
A: We use the subscapular skinfold as a genetic indicator. If you have a very low skinfold in the upper back naturally, you'll be more likely to be able to handle a lot of carbs in your diet.
But if you're a lean guy and your subscap is 15mm, then you're not "gifted" for carbs; you should stay away from them. If you get very lean and your subscap measurement doesn't go down that much, then you're not gifted for carbs.
Your suprailiac skinfold measurement is what I call your environmental carbs. In other words, the more you eat the more it goes up. so even if you're gifted for carbs, if you eat too many of them, then that site will go up.
But the most simple field test for carb tolerance is eating carbs for breakfast. You wake and you rate yourself on a scale from one to ten for energy, ten meaning very good, one meaning you feel like shit. Then have a high carb breakfast, say pancakes and maple syrup. An hour later, if you feel sleepy and want a nap, then carbs aren't for you. If you feel more energetic and ready to climb walls, then carbs are for you, you lucky bastard.
One thing people have to distinguish between is neo-carbs vs. paleo-carbs. With paleo carbs the simple rule is: Were they available to a caveman? Would he have access to grapes and raspberries? Yes. Bagels and pasta? No.
So when I talk about people adapting to carbs, I'm talking about neo-carbs. If they've adapted to pasta then they can eat it and feel great. They can eat any source of carbs. I've trained a lot with Milos Sarcev. That guy can eat French bread for breakfast and feel great. If I were to eat like him I might as well go on welfare and sleep all day. I can't do it.
Milos Sarcev
For more information on the significance of the different skinfolds, you can attend one of the Biosignature seminars listed on my website.
Usually, people who are gifted for hypertrophy are gifted for carb intake as well. They can eat a boatload of carbs and feel fine. Also, if you're white, fuck it. You've got to come from a region where there was a lot of agriculture for a long time to be able to handle carbs. If you're from German or Norwegian extraction and come from a line of meat eaters and hunters, then neo-carbs are not for you.
I can keep a body fat of 5-6% year around if I eat only paleo-carbs. Other guys, like Berardi, can suck up two kilos of pasta for breakfast and it won't bother them. You'll find though, that nutritionists tend to recommend what works for them, not what works for everybody. That's why I prefer to individualize diets.
Keith Klein and others used to recommend rice cakes as a carb source. If I ate rice cakes I'd fall asleep at the wheel! It doesn't work for me. I even hear people recommending Pop Tarts too, a classic example of neo-carbs.
Basically, our genes have only evolved .02% over the last 40,000 years. So we're mostly made for paleo-carbs. But 25% of the world population has actually adapted to agricultural-type carbohydrates. But I'd still recommend that those people stick to paleo-carbs over Pop Tarts, Cocoa Puffs, and all that shit. They need to look at nutrient density. It's not just about glycemic index or insulin load index, it's about the PI — phytonutrient index. How rich is that food in nutrients?
So, for example, blueberries. Blueberries are very thin skinned, and any thin skinned fruit is going to be richer in antioxidants because it has to protect itself against the sun. That's why blueberries have far more antioxidants than bananas. So when I reintroduce carbs into the diet, one of the first things I reintroduce is berries.
Basically, the darker and richer the color of the food, the healthier it is. Compare blueberries to rice. But then I'd rather have a guy carb up on rice than Pop Tarts.
The Natural Academy of Science medical board has established that the safe level of trans-fats for humans is zero, so why recommend a pastry that's full of trans-fats as a carb? It'll create lesions on your arteries, make your brain age faster, and double your risk of cancer! Why would anyone recommend Pop Tarts?
) kuin tuota 'margariini vs voi'-sotaa. Margariini koostuu kasviöljystä, se on tottakai hyvä asia. Pointti onkin siinä miten se on valmistettu. Jotenkinhan tuosta juoksevasta öljystä saadaan kiinteä "möykky", tässä valmistuksessa muodustuu transrasvoja jotka tutkijat, ravitsemussuuntauksesta riippuen, tunnustavat haitallisiksi. 
