Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction (Dry)

Rating:

Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction Formula Dog Food earns the Advisor’s highest rating of five stars.

Although the Premium Edge Dog Food product line currently lists eight kibbles, this review is designed to cover the Healthy Weight Reduction Formula only.

The first ingredient in this dog food includes chicken. Raw chicken contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just 20% of its original weight.

So, to reflect this lighter mass, this item should more accurately occupy a much lower position on the list.

Which brings us to chicken meal… the second and (most likely) the dominant meat ingredient in this dog food.

Chicken meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than fresh chicken.

The third ingredient lists peas. Peas are considered a quality source of carbohydrates… and (like all legumes) are loaded with natural fiber.

The fourth item is egg product… a dehydrated form of shell-free eggs. Quality can vary greatly. Lower grade egg product can even come from commercial hatcheries… from eggs that have failed to hatch.

The quality of this item all depends on the caliber of the ingredient purchased by Premium Edge (you get what you pay for).

In any case, eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The fifth ingredient is potato protein… the dry residue left over after removing the starchy part of a potato. This product contains over 80% plant protein… and so it’s used here to elevate that all-important nutrient in this food.

The sixth item includes potato. Assuming they are whole, potatoes are a good source of digestible carbohydrates and other healthy nutrients.

The seventh ingredient is fresh salmon. Raw salmon (like chicken) contains mostly water. So, the process of making kibble reduces the meat content to just a fraction of its pre-cooking weight.

For this reason, this item should be moved to a lower spot on the ingredients list.

The eighth item mentions 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. Though it doesn’t sound very appetizing, chicken fat is a quality ingredient.

Next, we note powdered cellulose… a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from cotton or wood. It is used in dog food to add bulk.

Cellulose fiber is sometimes added to dilute the number of calories per serving and to give the feeling of fullness when it is eaten.

Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no other nutrients to a dog.

Flaxseed is one of the best vegetable sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The seeds are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber.

However, we find it strange to see flaxseed here in its whole seed form. Whole flax seeds are almost impossible to digest (at least for us humans) unless they are first ground to a usable powder before they are consumed.

After the natural chicken flavor (whatever that means), we find fish meal. Because it is considered a meat concentrate, fish meal contains almost 300% more protein than fresh fish itself.

Unfortunately, this particular item is anonymous. The term “fish” does little to properly describe this ingredient. What species? What parts?

The phrase “ocean fish meal” is just another fancy name for this ingredient’s more recognized alias… fish meal.

Fish meal is commonly made from the by-products of commercial fish operations.

What’s more, the controversial chemical ethoxyquin is frequently used as a preservative in fish meals.

But because it’s usually added to the raw fish before processing, the chemical does not have to be reported to consumers.

Without knowing more, and based upon this fish meal’s location on the list of ingredients, it’s reasonable to expect to find not more than a trace amount of ethoxyquin in this product.

The list goes on to include a number of other ingredients.

But to be realistic, items located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall quality of this product.

The manufacturer appears to have added back some of the “good” bacteria lost during the cooking process. These special probiotics are used to enhance a dog’s digestive and immune functions.

This dog food also contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to amino acids. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are generally found in better dog foods.

Premium Edge Healthy Weight… the Bottom Line

Although it is not the goal of the Dog Food Advisor to rate each and every product, we feel Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction Formula is unique enough to merit its own special review.

In addition to the ingredients already discussed, it’s critical to be able to estimate the amount of animal protein in this product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 49%, a fat level of 13% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 30%.

Very high protein. Low fat. And low carbohydrates (when compared to a typical kibble).

Unlike most weight reduction dry dog foods (low on protein, high on carbs), this one is a game changer.

Lots of animal protein. And no grains.

Now, admittedly, at least some of that protein has to be attributed to the (vegetable-based) potato protein.

But still, these numbers make it hard to believe we’re looking at a weight loss kibble.

Bottom line?

Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction is primarily a grain-free kibble utilizing a generous amount of meat meal and eggs as its main sources of animal protein… making this one of the very best weight loss kibbles we’ve reviewed to date.

Five stars… oh, yeah.

Enthusiastically recommended.

Some Final Thoughts

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult your veterinarian for help.

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Tagged as: adult, dry, grain-free, high fiber, high protein, low carb, weight control