Rating: 
Iams Healthy Naturals Dog Food earns the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of three stars.
The Iams Healthy Naturals product line lists four kibbles. Although two appear to be for for adults, one for puppies and one for weight loss, we found no AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements for any of these dog foods on the Iams website.
- Iams Healthy Naturals Puppy with Chicken
- Iams Healthy Naturals Adult with Chicken
- Iams Healthy Naturals Weight Control
- Iams Healthy Naturals Lamb and Rice
Iams Healthy Naturals Adult with Chicken dog food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Iams Healthy Naturals Adult with Chicken
Dry Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Chicken, chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum, ground whole grain barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), dried beet pulp, natural flavor, dried egg product, potassium chloride, brewers dried yeast, salt, flax meal, monosodium phosphate, fish oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), calcium carbonate, dried apple pomace, dried carrots, dried peas, choline chloride, fructooligosaccharides, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, potassium iodide, cobalt carbonate), vitamin E supplement, dried spinach, dried tomatoes, vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin A acetate, calcium pantothenate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, niacin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), inositol, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid), beta-carotene, citric acid, rosemary extract
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first item in this dog food lists chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.
After processing, this item would probably occupy a lower position on the list.
Which brings us to chicken by-product meal… the second and (more likely) the dominant meat ingredient in this dog food.
Chicken by-product meal is a rendered product of slaughterhouse waste. It’s made from what’s left of a slaughtered chicken after all the prime cuts have been removed.
In a nutshell, chicken by-products are those unsavory leftovers usually considered “unfit for human consumption”.
This stuff can contain almost anything… feet, beaks, undeveloped eggs… anything (that is) but skeletal muscle (real meat).
On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.
The third ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice represents the small grain fragments left over after milling whole rice.
This is an inexpensive cereal grain by-product and not considered a quality ingredient.
The fourth item includes corn meal. Corn meal is a coarsely ground flour made from dried corn. Now, contrary to what you may have heard, corn isn’t necessarily a bad ingredient.
On the other hand, although there’s no way to know for sure here, the corn used in making many pet foods can be similar to the kind used to make feed for livestock.
And that can sometimes be problematic.
What’s more, corn is commonly linked to canine food allergies1.
For these reasons, we rarely consider corn a preferred component in any dog food.
The fifth ingredient is sorghum. Sorghum is a starchy cereal grain with a nutrient profile similar to corn.
Since it is gluten-free and boasts a smoother blood sugar behavior than other grains, sorghum may be considered an acceptable non-meat ingredient.
The sixth item is barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. Unlike other grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help support stable blood sugar levels in dogs.
The seventh ingredient is chicken fat. Chicken fat is obtained from rendering chicken… a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Chicken fat is high in linoleic acid… an omega-6 fatty acid essential for life. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is actually a quality ingredient.
The eighth ingredient lists beet pulp. Beet pulp is a controversial ingredient… a high fiber by-product of sugar beet processing.
Some denounce beet pulp as an inexpensive filler while others cite its outstanding intestinal health and blood sugar benefits.
We only call your attention here to the controversy and believe the inclusion of beet pulp in reasonable amounts in most dog foods is entirely acceptable.
After natural flavor, we find dried egg product… a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary significantly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries… from eggs that have failed to hatch.
In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
First, we find no mention of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.
And finally, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.
Iams Healthy Naturals Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Iams Healthy Naturals appears to be an average dry dog food.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 29%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 46%.
Because of its apparently lower meat content, we have chosen to downgrade the Iams Healthy Naturals Weight Control product to just two stars.
If we eliminate the Weight Control food from our calculations, the brand features an average protein content of 28% and a mean fat level of 16%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 48% for the overall product line.
Average protein. Average fat. And average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dry dog food.
With no evidence of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Iams Healthy Naturals is a grain-based dry dog food using a fair amount of chicken by-product meal as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand three stars.
Recommended.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific health benefit for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
02/01/2010 Original review
09/07/2010 Review updated
- White, S., Update on food allergy in the dog and cat, World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Vancouver, 2001 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.
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