June 10, 2025, 2:20 am | Read time: 6 minutes

When people hear the term “diet,” they often think of losing weight, but it actually refers to a specific way of eating. In the case of the Louwen Diet, it’s a low-sugar diet for expectant mothers. With a low glycemic index, the diet plan aims to set the stage for a spontaneous, uncomplicated birth. FITBOOK nutrition expert Beke Enderstein has taken a close look at the Louwen Diet and explains whether a low-carb approach is the right choice for pregnant women—or if it carries certain risks.

What is the Louwen Diet?

The low-sugar Louwen Diet was developed for pregnant women: Expectant mothers experience a less painful and faster birth if they avoid sugar, pasta, and white bread in the last weeks before delivery—at least according to the inventor’s assessment. In the final phase of pregnancy, approximately from the 32nd week, it is recommended to align the diet with the Glyx principle.

The Goal of the Diet

The blood sugar level should be kept at a constant, as low as possible level through the special diet to ease childbirth. Accordingly, it is a low-carb diet in which sugar and starchy foods like white flour products are avoided.

Who Invented the Pregnancy Diet?

The special pregnancy diet originated with German gynecologist Prof. Dr. Frank Louwen. As the head of obstetrics and the perinatal center at the Frankfurt University Hospital, Louwen has specialized in the adverse effects of sugar in diabetes and during pregnancy.

What Does the Louwen Diet Promise?

Those who follow the rules of the Louwen Diet are said to benefit from various advantages, such as a more spontaneous birth. According to Louwen, his dietary recommendations offer hormonal benefits.

The special low-carb diet aims to positively influence hormonal processes during pregnancy. This involves the interaction of insulin and the tissue hormone prostaglandin. Background: The release of prostaglandin is stimulated from the 35th week of pregnancy and is supposed to prepare the body for the upcoming birth.

The theory of the Louwen Diet: Since both hormones compete for the same receptors, the diet-dependent elimination of insulin is supposed to allow prostaglandin to initiate birth undisturbed—including a softening cervix.

(Possible) Effects of the Louwen Diet:

• The body prepares optimally for birth
• The likelihood of giving birth after the calculated due date decreases
• Reduced birth injuries
• A faster delivery
• A less painful birth

Principle of the Pregnancy Diet

In line with the dietary rules of the Louwen Diet, pregnant women should avoid sugar-rich foods and quickly available carbohydrates six to eight weeks before the calculated due date. The motto is: the lower the glycemic index, the better. Therefore, the focus is on fiber-rich foods with a low glycemic index. Instead of a classic croissant with strawberry jam, muesli made of oatmeal with fresh berries or whole-grain bread with herb quark would be the better choice.

Whole grain products, low-sugar fruits, and pseudocereals are among the allowed foods, but expectant mothers should still consume these foods in moderation. The reason: The lower sugar content combined with fiber prevents blood glucose spikes but still triggers insulin release to some extent.

Which Foods Pregnant Women Should Focus On

For a less painful birth experience, Louwen recommends a low-sugar diet. Additionally, women should avoid white flour products, starchy vegetables, and sweet fruits. However, fiber, high-quality protein sources, and unsaturated fatty acids are encouraged.

Allowed Foods of the Louwen Diet:

• Protein (e.g., quark and legumes)
• Healthy, unsaturated fat (e.g., walnuts and linseed oil)
• Salad and low-starch vegetables (e.g., lamb’s lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and cucumbers)
• Whole grain products (e.g., oatmeal)
• Low-sugar fruits (e.g., apples, berries, and citrus fruits)
• Pseudocereals (amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa)

Which Foods Are Taboo?

Pregnant women should largely avoid the following foods a few weeks before the planned due date to keep blood sugar levels as constant as possible:

• Sugar, sweeteners, and honey
• White flour products (e.g., pasta and white bread)
• Sweets and cakes
• Jam
• Potatoes and white rice
• Millet
• Corn, pumpkin, and peas
• (Cooked) carrots
• Beets
• Juice and sweetened drinks
• Bananas and grapes
• Sweet cherries and mango
• Pineapple, papaya, and melon
• Dried fruit

Who is the Louwen Diet Suitable for, and Who is it Not?

In general, the Louwen Diet is suitable for anyone who wants to prepare for a more spontaneous birth—without too much pain. However, the dietary rules do not guarantee that the birth will actually go smoothly.

Since the restriction of sugar and white flour in favor of fiber through vegetables, whole grains, and the like corresponds to the rules of a healthy diet, the diet plan will certainly not do any harm.

Contraindications: However, those who suffer from a metabolic disorder—especially type I diabetes—should only start the Louwen Diet after consulting a doctor.

Advantages of the Pregnancy Diet

Overall, the Louwen Diet unfolds various highlights—especially regarding the prevention of overweight. Studies also show that a pregnancy diet that prevents excessive weight gain is sensible. This can, for example, reduce the risk of a cesarean section.¹

Advantages:

• Invented with scientific expertise
• Prevention of overweight
• Corresponds to a healthy diet
• Avoiding sugar and white flour is sensible
• Increased fiber intake is positively evaluated
• Possible prevention of gestational diabetes
• Healthy, unsaturated fatty acids are recommended

Disadvantages of the Louwen Diet

There is fundamentally nothing against the dietary recommendations, but it is not definitively established whether pregnant women really benefit from less pain and risks during delivery.

Disadvantages:

• Conclusive study results are lacking
• Those who crave the “forbidden” vegetables and fruits should rather listen to their gut feeling

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Conclusion: Is the Louwen Diet Sensible?

Since the dietary rules of pregnancy nutrition according to Prof. Dr. Frank Louwen correspond to the general rules of a healthy diet, there is nothing against following the diet tips from my point of view.² However, whether the low-sugar diet plan really leads to a more pleasant, faster, and spontaneous birth with fewer health risks is difficult to assess, in my opinion—but it certainly won’t hurt.

Specifically, preventively regarding sensible weight management, the Louwen Diet hits the mark.

In my view, avoiding sugar and white flour products in favor of an extra portion of fiber is fundamentally sensible; whether avoiding the “forbidden” vegetables and fruits actually makes birth easier, however, still needs to be proven by conclusive study results.