Carbohydrates: Food for muscle?

My husband and I got into an argument: is low-carb really healthy? My Paleo exploits have caused him to take an audio course on nutrition, which impressed both of us with its solid grounding. Surprisingly, many conclusions coincide with common wisdom among the Paleo folk, but there are some differences.

 Today I would like to examine the idea that carbohydrates are necessary for proper muscle function. There are two "basic truths" everyone who works out has heard:

1. We need carbohydrates in order to expend energy. All athletes "carb up" for the big marathons and according to mainstream nutritional science, protein can be converted to carbs if needed. However, that's slower and hard on your liver. So if you really want to impress your friends, better start your workout with an oatmeal.
2. Even my Crossfit coach agrees with this one: carbs are great for a post-workout recovery.

I started, as I often do at the old Mark's Daily Apple.  Sure enough,  he doesn't buy it. Have a high-protein snack after your workout and say hello to another great day.  The most interesting thing that came out of that article was a link to a study, which proves that consuming carbohydrates after a workout does not indeed help muscles rebuild.

When I reviewed studies citing this one - I learned that

• Essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion before resistance exercise does not enhance postexercise muscle protein synthesis
• Protein coingestion stimulates muscle protein synthesis during resistance-type exercise

OK. Back to beef jerky post-workout. But what about the other end of it? Do we need to consume heavy carbs in order to get out of the chair?

Word of mouth among Crossfit trainers says, no. But thus far I have not been able to find very much evidence. Can you point me in a good direction?