Mushrooms have the Heart Tick and are part of the 5+ a Day Programme. Although they're officially classed as fungi, mushrooms are categorised as vegetables for nutritional purposes, A diet high in vegetables leads to good all round heart health and helps reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. There are lots of ways the humble mushroom can contribute to a healthy heart: -They contain virtually no fat and are completely cholesterol-free, -They're low in kilojoules and sodium, -They're high in potassium - which works together with low doses of sodium to help regulate blood pressure, -They contain other important nutrients that contribute to the health of the wider circulatory system, including B vitamins - some of which help with red blood formation and maintenance as well as overall heart function.One of the major contributors to heart disease is atherogenesis, which is where plaque forms on the heart's arterial walls, causing hardening of the arteries. In laboratory studies, button mushrooms have been shown to reduce inflammation in arterial cells and prevent white blood cells from sticking to the artery walls: promising indications of the role mushrooms may play in helping maintain a healthy heart.Mushrooms help recipes taste better in place of salt because they contain glutamate ribonucleotides. Those compounds contribute a savory, umami taste with no ramifications for your blood pressure or heart disease risk. An entire cup of mushrooms has only 5 mg sodium! Mushrooms also make an excellent, satisfying substitute for red meat in any dish, eliminating calories, fat, and cholesterol from the equation.