KetoNatural was launched in 2018. Daniel Schulof is the founder. He’s a nutritional science author and activist. He’s also author of Dogs, Dog Food, and Dogma. It’s a canine health and nutrition book.
Two Ketona recipes were developed as low carbohydrate dog food. These foods are made in the United States. Most are made in Kansas. Some are made in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Missouri.
Schuloff and his company filed several lawsuits in support of dog food. The recent one addresses grain-free dog foods and their relationship to canine heart disease. It is in litigation.
For our KetoNatural dog food review, we’ll look at the food ingredient quality and safety of each line of food. Our dog food reviews are based on these criteria.
IS KETONATURAL A GOOD DOG FOOD?
KetoNatural is a moderate risk dog food by our criteria. Its single line is Ketona. There are 2 recipes. They average 46% protein. There are average carbohydrates of 9% as calculated. This is an exceptionally low level for kibble.
Ketona is based on a ketogenic type diet. The company notes that feeding Ketona might not increase your dog’s ketones. That requires other measures. The intent is to reduce carbohydrate content in a dog’s diet. Animal protein sources are the main ingredients. There are some plant proteins. But there are no fruits, high-starch veggies, legumes or grains. Gluten is also absent.
Ketona is ultra processed dog food. Making kibble without starches and heat processing is considered impossible. Manufacturers note it’s part of the extrusion process to make kibble. However, Ketona is formulated as a low carbohydrate diet for dogs.
KetoNatural follows the same extrusion process. But its recipes have no starches. There are low levels of carbohydrates that come from peas.
Extruded foods are heated several times during production. This causes major losses in enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients. As in this case, they require added vitamins and minerals. This balances the foods to AAFCO requirements. This suggests lower quality ingredients or a lack of ingredients. They lack needed nutrients. The recipes lose points for this. There are no added amino acids. This suggests adequate protein sources.
The recipes use peas in the top 5 ingredients. They’re an ingredient known for high pesticide/herbicide use. However, there aren’t any GMO ingredients. Recipes contain natural flavor. It’s usually animal digest or MSG. These are low quality ingredients with limited safety studies.
Most ingredients are sourced from the United States. Chickens are raised in the US. The salmon is farmed in Chile. Farmed fish is less nutritious than wild caught fish. It doesn’t contain the same healthy fatty acid balance. Fish farming also threatens wild fish species.
KetoNatural doesn’t state the omega-6:omega-3 ratio in their recipes. This is true of most companies. It’s a concern because AAFCO allows a very inflammatory ratio of 30:1. Diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation.
KetoNatural Ketona Dry Food
Score: 5.5/10
Ingredient List For Salmon Recipe: Salmon, Salmon Meal, Peas, Salmon Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pea Protein, Ground Miscanthus Grass, Flaxseed, Gelatin, Natural Flavor, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Rosemary Extract..
Ketona Benefits
- Low carbohydrate
- High protein
- No GMOs
Ketona Concerns
- Ultra processed
- Excessive added vitamins and minerals
- High pesticide ingredients
- Natural flavor
- Does not provide omega-6:omega-3 ratio
- Does not specify wild or farmed fish
View The Entire Review on Dog Food Reviews
KETONATURAL DOG FOOD RECALLS
To date, KetoNatural has not had any recalls or voluntary withdrawals.
Evaluation Criteria
We evaluate and score dog foods based on two criteria:
Are the Ingredients High Quality?
Here are some common low-quality ingredients or markers we look for:
- Is there excessive carbohydrate content, which can cause gut imbalances?
- Does the food contain unnamed proteins, which are low quality?
- Does the food use cellulose (wood pulp) as a source of fiber instead of real food?
- Are there excessive vitamins and minerals added in place of real food nutrition?
- Are there excessive added amino acids or plant proteins instead of expensive meat protein?
- Does the food contain inflammatory processed seed oils?
How Safe Are the Ingredients?
Many ingredients come from unhealthy, inflammatory sources or are full of pesticides so we look for:
- How processed is the food?
- Does the food contain known genetically modified foods?
- Does the food contain ingredients known to be high in pesticides?
- Does the food contain natural flavor, which are often MSG or animal digest?
- Does the food contain rice, which is high in arsenic?
Each food is objectively evaluated by these criteria and a score is assigned using the average of ingredient quality and safety. This is NOT a paid list and there are no affiliate links. Dogs Naturally has partnered with DogFoodReviews.com to make sure dog owners have unbiased, objective criteria to help them choose the best dog food on the market. You can view the full Evaluation Criteria at DogFoodReviews.com.
