Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula Review

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula
Ingredients: Chicken broth, chicken, chicken liver, salmon, duck, brown rice, chicken meal, natural flavor, pea fiber, oat hull, menhaden oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dicalcium phosphate, vitamin E supplement, thiamine mononitrate, niacin, vitamin A supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, biotin, guar gum, zinc proteinate, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, potassium chloride, salt, taurine, dl-methionine, choline chloride, magnesium chloride, carrageenan, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, l-tryptophan, cranberry, blueberry, dried kelp, yucca schidigera extract, l-lysine monohydrochloride, rosemary extract.
Red: harmful ingredients
Orange: controversial ingredients
Guaranteed Analysis & Dry Matter Basis
Carbohydrate
4.50 % (20.45 %)
Moisture (max)
78.00 % (0.00 %)
Crude Fiber (max)
2.00 % (9.09 %)
Crude Fat (min)
7.00 % (31.82 %)
Crude Protein (min)
8.50 % (38.64 %)

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Review of Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health
Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck 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 Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck 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 Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula with a detailed discussion of the ingredients.

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

The second ingredient is chicken. Although chicken is an excellent protein source, raw chicken contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of chicken 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 chicken liver. Chicken liver is an excellent organ meat which provides high quality protein and fat. In addition, chicken liver provides many essential vitamins and minerals.

The fourth ingredient is salmon. Salmon is another excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acid source. As with other raw meats, salmon contains a substantial amount of moisture and therefore the relative meat contribution of salmon is dramatically reduced after cooking.

The fifth ingredient is duck. Duck is another outstanding protein source, naturally rich in all of the essential amino acids required by cats.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck 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 brown rice. Brown rice is naturally rich in fiber and various minerals including manganese, phosphorus, and magnesium. Relative to other grains, brown rice is easy to digest.

The next ingredient is chicken meal. Chicken meal is produced by cooking chicken using a process called rendering. The rendering process dramatically reduces the natural moisture of chicken and thereby results in a highly condensed protein source.

Then we have natural flavor. Unlike artificial flavoring, natural flavoring is produced using plants and/or animal parts.

Moving on, we have pea fiber. Pea fiber is a concentrated dietary fiber source. Fiber can help stabilize blood sugar levels and promote colon health.

The remaining ingredients in this Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health 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 Original Ultra Whole Body Health Reduced Calorie - Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula is 5.0 out of 5.