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Lotus raw dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.
The Lotus product line includes one raw recipe.
Unfortunately, we were unable to locate AAFCO nutrient profile information on the product’s official webpage.
Lotus Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Chicken, chicken liver, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic apples, organic blueberries, organic bananas, organic flaxseed, sea salt, salmon oil, olive oil, dried kelp, dried chicory root extract, New Zealand green mussel, whole eggs, calcium carbonate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, copper sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, manganous carbonate, riboflavin, calcium iodate, pyridoxine hydrochloride (a source of vitamin B6), vitamin D3 supplement, sodium selenite, folic acid
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 14% | 10% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 52% | 37% | 3% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 36% | 62% | 2% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.2
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.
The third ingredient is organic spinach. Due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral content, spinach exhibits a remarkably high nutrient Completeness Score3 of 91.
The fourth ingredient is organic broccoli. Broccoli is a healthy green vegetable and a member of the kale family. It’s notably rich in vitamin C and fiber and numerous other nutrients.
Like other cruciferous vegetables, broccoli is believed to provide anti-cancer benefits.
The fifth ingredient includes organic apples, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.
The sixth ingredient includes organic blueberries. Blueberries are a good source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.
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 affect the overall rating of this product.
With four notable exceptions…
First, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.
Next, this recipe includes olive oil. Olive oil contains oleic acid, a healthy monounsaturated fat. It’s also rich in natural antioxidants and carotenoids.
In addition, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.
Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.
And lastly, 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.
Lotus Raw Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Lotus raw dog food looks like an above-average raw product.
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 52%, a fat level of 37% and estimated carbohydrates of about 3%.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 71%.
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.
Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a raw product containing an abundant amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Lotus is a meat-based raw dog food using a generous amount of chicken and chicken liver as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.
Enthusiastically recommended.
Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.
Lotus Dog Food
Recall History
The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls sorted by date. Or view the same list sorted alphabetically by brand.
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Notes and Updates
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