Anonymous wrote:OP, I have the same problem. My HBP and higher than ideal LDL are largely genetic. I have been a vegetarian all my life and do not eat saturated fats except for the occasional slice of toast with tiny bit of butter. Not overweight, exercise regularly.
Plant sterols and stanols are supposed to help lower cholesterol, but I have not found products that contain these, so the search continues. Maybe someone on this board knows?
https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/sterols-stanols-what-know
I was the 14:24 poster. Yes, you can try a product called Benecol, which is a butter substitute with plant stanols. They also have chocolates although I haven't tried them.
From what I read, in order for the plant sterols and stanols to have a noticeable effect, they need to be consumed regularly which I do not do. I just use the Benecol occasionally when I'm eating a bagel or something, because it's lower in saturated fat than butter. My LDL dropped a ton in the past year, but I'm sure it has more to do with diet than my occasional Benecol use, but it's good to know it's not making things worse.
By the way, Benecol is available at Wegman's and Harris Teeter.