Stress does more damage to your health than people give it credit for. Half the physical symptoms I used to worry about turned out to be tension and anxiety. Sometimes the best medicine is a vacation and a good night's sleep.

The boring stuff actually works: get enough sleep, drink water, move your body every day, eat more vegetables, don't smoke. There's no magic pill. The companies selling magic pills are the ones making money off people wanting an easy answer.

I'm not a doctor and you should definitely talk to your physician about this. That said, the general medical consensus seems to be that moderation is key. Most health concerns come from extremes in either direction.

I asked my doctor this exact question. They said most of what you read about this is overblown and the actual risk is small for a normal healthy person. The news loves a scary health headline. Ask your own doctor before you panic.

If you don't have insurance, look into a community health clinic. A lot of them charge on a sliding scale based on income. Don't skip care because you're worried about the cost — small problems are cheaper to fix than big ones.