[SilverStarShado]

I have currently, and will continue to feed Yoda his prefered choice of Royal Canin...I have been doing some thinking of switching to Innova EVO so I contacted them... I sort of feel that this is too much protein, and fat for Yoda...then again to each his own opinion. thought i would share this; this is the response I received from them:

Thank you for contacting us about our products.* Natura uses a slow, low temperature extrusion process which is carefully controlled to ensure thorough cooking and optimal nutritional availability and digestibility of the ingredients.* The ingredients are mixed and then cooked in an extruder and forced through a die to form the shape of the kibble.

Water-soluble vitamins are affected by heat, and are formulated in compensatory levels.* This means we add in more because we know what will be lost during the cooking process.* Probiotics*are heat sensitive*and are added after the cooking process.

What makes the Innova EVO different is that it does not contain any grains, which makes it low in carbohydrate and higher in fat and protein.

Here is an excerpt from*a letter our Vice President, co-founder, and nutritionist Peter Atkins*wrote that might help to further define the Innova EVO formula for you:

"...if you are looking for an ultra high performance food, a more convenient or reasonable substitute for a raw food diet, or if you have interest in approaching nutrition from a high-protein low-carbohydrate angle, then we would urge you to consider EVO.

We are the first to admit that EVO is not for every situation. Likewise, the conventional wisdom, of which your veterinarian's recommendations are in direct alignment, would suggest a much lower protein diet is better. Conventional wisdom would also recommend a low fat diet to avoid obesity.

However, if we look at a conventional pet food label with 25% protein, 12% fat, the moisture will likely claim 10%, crude fiber about 4% and we can assume ash (minerals) of about 6%. Then by difference the carbohydrate fraction can be estimated to be approximately 43%. Most often these carbohydrates are grains. Now, we don't suggest that any grain is inherently bad. But, it is often alarming when we actually understand just how much grain can be found in a conventional diet.

Critical to understanding EVO's philosophical challenge to conventional nutritional recommendations, one must realize that there are no established nutritional requirements for carbohydrate!

Traditionally grains have been an inexpensive way to dilute the nutrient density to more closely align with the minimum requirements. For conventional thinkers this is still a good strategy today.

More recently nutritionists have begun to question the conventional wisdom of providing compounds which aren't inherently key providers of essential nutrients just to lower protein and fat to a level that barely meets requirements. In essence, EVO challenges the conventional thought of adding grain only to lower protein and fat concentrations - the grains have been removed. Thereby, the protein and fat concentrations are going to be elevated.

In long-term feeding studies, EVO has performed extremely well and no adverse conditions have been detected. Further, there have been a number of myths promulgated regarding links between protein and kidney failure, aging, and other health related issues. Repeated research studies have simply not been able to substantiate these myths: Quite the opposite. Much of this work has led us to a better understanding of the role that high quality proteins have on health, disease prevention, and even recovery."

I hope I have given enough information to adequately address your query.* If you have any further questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Please reference the original e-mail when responding.

Rory Tharp
Customer Service Supervisor
Natura Pet Products
1-800-532-7261