Individuals should watch their daily sugar intake as a new study suggests that high amounts of added sugars can increase the risk of heart disease.

According to findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, consuming added sugars from processed or prepared foods is related to lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, otherwise known as the good cholesterol.

Researchers point out that American citizens have a tendency to consume high amounts of processed foods, and their sugar levels have increased dramatically in recent years due to their new diets.

The scientists observed 6,113 patients and found that the higher sugar levels they had in their system, the more likely they were to have more heart disease risk factors.

“Monitoring trends in consumption and understanding the effect added sugars have on risk of cardiovascular and other diseases is critically important, because added sugars are a potentially modifiable source of calories,” the authors write.

Individuals can take such as fiber in order to lower their cholesterol.