Natural Balance Delectable Delights Sea Brulée Stew Review
Orange: controversial ingredients
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Review of Natural Balance Delectable Delights
Sea Brulée Stew
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 Sea Brulée Stew 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 Sea Brulée Stew with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.
The first ingredient is fish broth. Fish broth provides both flavor and moisture; however, as with other broths, fish 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 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 fourth ingredient is chicken, which is an excellent source of protein and fat.
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 Sea Brulée Stew 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 dried egg. Dried eggs consist of shell-free eggs which are easy to digest and contain high quality protein. Egg protein is often given the highest biological value (BV). The BV metric measures the usability of the ingredient's protein.
The next ingredient is tapioca starch. Tapioca starch is a gluten-free starch extracted from cassava roots. Starch is a necessary component in producing kibble and tapioca is an excellent choice in this regard.
Then 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.
Moving on, we have 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.
Moving on with this review, we have guar gum. 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.
The next ingredient in this review is tricalcium phosphate. Tricalcium phosphate is typically used for its mineral contents. However, it can also be used to evenly disperse fat in wet food products.
Our next ingredient is salt. Salt is an important mineral for both humans and cats. Depending on the quantity of salt used (which we cannot determine), salt may or may not be a nutritious addition in the recipe.
choline chloride is the next ingredient in this recipe. Choline chloride is member of the B-vitamin complex (vitamin B4).
Next on the list is potassium chloride. Potassium chloride is a potassium supplement.
The next ingredient in this recipe is vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E is an essential vitamin required by cats.
Next we have 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 Sea Brulée Stew is 4.5 out of 5.
