Natural Balance Delectable Delights Life's a Beach Pâté Review

This product is manufactured by Natural Balance Pet Foods. Natural Balance Pet Foods is a subsidiary of Big Heart Pet Brands. In addition to Natural Balance, Big Heart Pet Brands also owns Nature's Recipe, Milk Bone, Meaty Bone, Meow Mix, PupPeroni, Ally Cat, and several other brands.

According to our data, this Natural Balance recipe provides complete & balanced nutrition for the maintenance of adult cats. In other words, this formula is AAFCO approved.

Natural Balance Delectable Delights Life's a Beach Pâté is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for the maintenance of adult cats.

Ingredient Review

We'll begin this review of Natural Balance Delectable Delights Life's a Beach Pâté with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

The first ingredient is tuna broth. Tuna broth provides both flavor and moisture; however, as with other broths, tuna broth does not provide any notable nutritional contribution.

The second ingredient is tuna. Although tuna is an excellent protein source, raw tuna contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of tuna is dramatically reduced. Therefore, it's important to ensure that other meat sources are included within the first few ingredients to ensure the product derives most of its protein from meat.

The third ingredient is sardine. Sardines are an excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acid source. As with other raw meats, sardines contains a substantial amount of moisture and therefore the relative meat contribution of sardines is dramatically reduced after cooking.

The fourth ingredient is whitefish. Although whitefish is an excellent protein and fat source, raw whitefish contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of whitefish is dramatically reduced. Therefore, it's important to ensure that other meat sources are included within the first few ingredients to ensure the product derives most of its protein from meat.

The fifth ingredient is carrot. Carrots are an excellent source of dietary fiber and minerals. In addition, carrots are rich in beta carotene, an antioxidant which is a precursor to vitamin A.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Delectable Delights Life's a Beach Pâté are not as important as the first five ingredients.

However, collectively they still have a significant impact on the overall quality of the product. Therefore, we'll continue discussing the remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance recipe.

Next we have pea protein. Pea protein is produced by removing the starchy parts of peas. Pea protein is considered controversial because it provides a substantial plant based protein boost. This boost is undesirable because plant based protein is typically lower in biological value when compared to meat based proteins.

The next ingredient is mackerel. Mackerel is another outstanding protein and omega-3 fatty acids source. Mackerel also contains all of the necessary essential amino acids required by cats.

Then we have crab. Crab is another excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acid source. As with other raw meats, crab contains a substantial amount of moisture and therefore the relative meat contribution of crab is dramatically reduced after cooking.

Moving on, we have spinach. Spinach is a nutritionally dense dark green vegetable rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Moving on with this review, we have rice flour. Rice flour is a gluten-free carbohydrate source. As long as the bran and germ of the grain are included in the flour, rice flour can provide a notable amount of fiber and nutrition. However, because the type of rice ("brown" or "white") is not specified, we cannot make this determination.

The next ingredient in this review is sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is an omega-6 fatty acid source. Unlike other oils (flax, canola, etc), sunflower oil does not provide omega-3 fatty acids; However, the balancing omega-3 fatty acids are most likely supplied by another oil or fat source.

Our next ingredient is potassium chloride, which is a potassium supplement.

guar gum is the next ingredient in this recipe. Guar gum (or guaran) is obtained from guar beans which have been dehusked, milled and screened. It's commonly used in wet food products as a thickening agent and provides a notable amount of dietary fiber.

Next on the list is vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E is an essential vitamin required by cats.

The next ingredient in this recipe is niacin supplement. Niacin is also known as vitamin B3. It's an essential vitamin that is critical for the metabolism of nutrients and the well-being of the central nervous and GI systems.

The remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance Delectable Delights recipe are unlikely to affect the overall rating of the product.

Our analysis of the ingredients show that this product derives most of its protein from animal based sources. This is an excellent property because meat based protein contains all of the necessary amino acids required by cats. In our option, this is one of the most important properties to judge when reviewing pet food, therefore we believe this is an exceptional product in this regard.

Final Thoughts

In summary, we recognize that this product does not contain any artificial colors, artificial preservatives, or anonymous meat ingredients.

The official PawDiet rating for Natural Balance Delectable Delights Life's a Beach Pâté is 3.0 out of 5.