Abstract: A process for separating sterols from lipids, (e.g. cholesterol from butter fat) using sub or supercritical fluids (such as CO.sub.2) by dissolving the sterol/lipid mixture in a high pressure physiologically acceptable fluid (either as a high pressure liquid or as a high pressure sub or supercritical gas), to form a high pressure fluid mixture, and then contacting the high pressure fluid mixture with an adsorbent material chosen from the group consisting of calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide to selectively adsorb sterols on the adsorbent material, and then removing the substantially sterol free lipids from the high pressure fluid.