Sugar Alcohols should be counted as Net Carbs and I will try to explain why that is. Your body's preference for either carbs or fat isn't determined by the insulin spike, its determined by the availability of glucose in the blood stream. While sugar alcohols have less of an impact on blood sugar and insulin levels than your average carb, they still do affect it and the glucose that they are broken down into is still available for burning, making fat go on the backburner as a fuel source. If you are counting your calories sugar alcohols are no more different than any other calorie source as far as weight loss and are a healthier carb in my opinion, but if your goal is to restrict carbs in order to make fat the preferential fuel source, beware of sugar alcohols because they still act like a normal carb in the end, just not as severely. Its fine to have them once in a while, but everyday is probably not the greatest idea depending on your plan/goals.