Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula Review
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Review of Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets
Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula
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 Limited Ingredient Diets Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula 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 Limited Ingredient Diets Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.
The first ingredient is turkey. Although turkey is an excellent protein source, raw turkey contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of turkey 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 second ingredient is chickpea. Chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans) are an excellent carbohydrate source, naturally rich in dietary fiber and protein.
The third ingredient is turkey meal. Turkey meal is produced by cooking turkey using a process called rendering. The rendering process dramatically reduces the natural moisture of turkey and thereby results in a highly condensed protein source.
The fourth ingredient is pea. Peas are high-protein legumes which supply a healthy dose of dietary fiber and several important vitamins and minerals.
The fifth ingredient is 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.
Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula 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 potato. Potatoes are commonly used in pet food as a gluten free carbohydrate source which also provides various vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
The next ingredient is dried beet pulp. Dried beet pulp is the by-product which remains once sugar has been extracted from sugar beets. The primary contribution of beet pulp is dietary fiber.
We'd also like to note that beet pulp is fairly controversial in pet food. Proponents claim that beet pulp can promote intestinal health and regulate blood sugar. However, opponents claim that beet pulp is an inexpensive filler.
Then we have canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). The usage of canola oil is controversial in cat food. Canola plant seeds are the product of selective breeding applied to rapeseed, which in turn is used to produce rapeseed oil. It is widely known that rapeseed oil is dangerous for human and animal consumption.
Moving on, we have natural flavor. The sole purpose of natural flavor is to improve palatability.
Moving on with this review, we have 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.
The next ingredient in this review is choline chloride. Choline chloride is member of the B-vitamin complex (vitamin B4).
The remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets 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 Limited Ingredient Diets Indoor Turkey & Chickpea Formula is 2.5 out of 5.
