Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula 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 all life stages. In other words, this formula is AAFCO approved.

Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.

Ingredient Review

We'll begin this review of Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health 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, which is an excellent source of protein and fat.

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. Although salmon is an excellent protein and omega-3 fatty acid source, raw salmon contains more than 60% moisture. After cooking, the relative meat contribution of salmon 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 duck. Duck is another excellent protein source. As with other raw meats, duck contains a substantial amount of moisture and therefore the relative meat contribution of duck is dramatically reduced after cooking.

Because ingredients are listed in order of pre-cooked weight, the remaining ingredients in Natural Balance Original Ultra Whole Body Health 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 dried brewers yeast. Dried brewers yeast is a by-product of the brewing industry. Brewers yeast is rich in various minerals and contains a notable amount of protein.

The next ingredient is 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.

Then we have canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Because canola oil is actually an improved rapeseed oil, many people are wary of its nutritional impacts.

Moving on, we have natural flavor, which is likely included to improve palatability.

Moving on with this review, we have menhaden oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Menhaden oil is naturally rich in healthy long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely EPA and DHA. These omega-3 fatty acids provide many positive health benefits including the support of vital organs and cognitive functions.

The next ingredient in this review is dicalcium phosphate. Dicalcium phosphate (misnomer for dibasic calcium phosphate) is commonly used in pet food and treats as a dietary calcium supplement. It can also be found in breakfast cereals, enriched flour, noodle products, pharmaceutical tablets, and toothpastes.

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

calcium carbonate is the next ingredient in this recipe. Calcium carbonate is a naturally occurring mineral supplement. Although it's often used as a dietary calcium supplement, it can also be used as a preservative or color retainer.

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

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 Chicken, Salmon & Duck Formula is 5.0 out of 5.