Tips for Running a Successful Fitness Club

Business Sports

You’ve finally got your dream business of running your own fitness center. You get to spend all day teaching others about the exercises that you love to do. However, there are more factors to consider as a business owner that contribute to running a successful fitness club. In this short article, we’re going to look at some necessary components you’ll need to have at your fitness center to ensure that people stay active with your business.


Have a Fun-Filled Environment of Acceptance

As a gym owner, you must know that you’re the tone that sets how your gym members treat one another. You should provide a comfortable environment for members of all walks of life to come and enjoy the activity of fitness. It doesn’t matter if a member’s goal is to deadlift 800 pounds or to lose 200 pounds, you want to set an example of creating an environment of acceptance. When people come to your gym and feel as they belong, they’ll invite more friends to come along with them. Concern for the comfort of members applies to their physical comfort as well; your gym should be adequately climate controlled all-year round. Simply put, air conditioning service in San Diego will be essential and the same goes for heating repair in Minneapolis.


Manageable Prices

Pricing and managing memberships can be a difficult task for any gym owner. It may seem like you got things straight when you only have a handful of members, but once your memberships start to explode, it can be difficult to keep up with the demand. For this reason, you should have a clear system set up to handle the management of your members so that new members can join with ease. Your pricing scale should be competitive to other local gyms in the area which have similar equipment as your own.

Keep Things Clean

Cleanliness is very important when it comes to owning a gym. Since members will be sweating and using equipment, it can be a breeding ground for some unsightly odors. However, you should do your best to maintain a clean and odor-free environment. This not only includes the gym, but also the bathrooms and changing rooms. People just like to be in clean atmospheres and you should use that fact to your advantage.


Provide the Extras Your Clients Need

To gain loyal members, you want to think from the customer perspective as much as possible. Think about the things that they can use to help their experience at your gym become even better. You can offer post-workout drinks and snacks, fresh towels to use in the showers, shower products, and cold water bottles. Think about these extras as investing in your clients to ensure they absolutely love your gym every single time they walk through the doors.

Offer Free Classes

Whether it’s martial arts or yoga, people love to try out new forms of fitness. It’s a great idea to get various instructors in your doors to offer a variety of fitness courses. We suggest offering beginner level courses for free. This will give a great introductory experience for your gym members. Then, you can always offer more advanced courses at a fee. This will ensure you only get interested members who want to devote time to learning about a specific type of fitness activity.

As you can see, running a successful fitness club can be done with various methods. We highly encourage you to try and implement as many of the above suggestions as possible. Always take the time to think about what your customers want as that is the best way to figure out what to do next to be even more successful than you already are.

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How Prepared Are You to Retire?

Finance

Do you dream of the day you can say goodbye to the 9 to 5 grind? Retirement is something many older adults anticipate, but very few actually prepare for. Unfortunately, most adults nearing retirement have made very little effort to plan for the lifestyle changes that lie ahead. This, in turn, results in debt, limited incomes, and more. As you want to enjoy your retirement, it is important to start planning as soon as possible.

No one wants to end up having to return to work, live on a shoestring budget, or be unable to accomplish any goals after they’ve retired. To ensure you’re on the right path for setting up for a positive future, ask yourself these questions to determine just how ready you are to retire.

Have You Met or Exceeded Your Savings Goals?

You won’t have your stable income to live off of anymore once you retire. Though you may receive social security benefits and/or a pension, the more money you have saved the better you can survive and enjoy retirement. It is recommended that you try and save at least 25 times your annual retirement expenses. So, if you review your retirement account statements, are you on target to save that much? Have you exceeded that amount? Or, are you nowhere near your goal?

Are Your Affairs in Order?

Of course, the plan is to live years and years after your retirement, but it’s never too soon to think about when you pass. You’ve accumulated a lot over the years and want to make sure that your loved ones are secure after you’re passing. An estate planning lawyer can help you to get your affairs in order. From drafting a will and naming beneficiaries to develop a living trust and dividing your assets, they will work with you to ensure you’re secured before you retire. If you haven’t made these preparations yet, unfortunately, you’re not ready to retire.

Have You Paid Your Debts Off?

Remember, you’ll be living on a fixed income once you retire. In order to maximize the money you do receive, you need to reduce the amount of debt you have. If you’re nearing retirement and still have thousands of dollars in credit card, mortgage, and medical bills, you’re putting a huge financial burden on your shoulders. You can determine what kind of shape you’re in by checking your credit reports. Calculate all outstanding debt. Do you have a lot of debt? Are the accounts you still have maxed out or are they under 30% utilization rates? Are you on track to pay off your debts by the time you plan to retire? The answers to these questions will let you know if you’re actually ready to retire.

Can You Live Off Your Retirement Income?

Though some expenses will disappear or reduce drastically once you retire, you still have bills that need to be paid and expenses you have to cover. Before you retire, it’s a good idea to determine whether or not you can live on this limited income. You can start by calculating your retirement income (what you’d receive monthly from social security, pension, and other financial sources). Using that number, tally up your expenses and compare it. Are you able to live on the amount you’ll make in retirement, or are there some adjustments that need to be made?

Have You Thought About What You’ll Do?

Sitting around the house catching up on television shows and rest is fun for a few weeks, but after that, you’ll find yourself really bored during retirement. Seniors who don’t do anything after retirement is at increased risk to suffer from both physical and mental health problems. That’s why it’s important to think about what you’ll do once you retire. Would you like to start a business, travel outside of the country, learn a new hobby, or visit family?

There are a lot of things to consider when preparing for retirement. Whether it’s decades or just a few short years away, planning your future is imperative to living a long, happy, and healthy life. If you’ve answered no to even one of the above questions, the truth is, you’re not really ready to retire. Fortunately, it’s never too late to start. Using information like what was provided above will help get you on the right track for a bright future.

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How Easy Is It to Start a Restaurant in 2019

Business

According to The Statistics Portal, Statista, food and drinks sales in the US in 2017 amounted to almost $800 billion, up from $379 billion in 2000. These statistics are proof that the restaurant and food service industry is growing and thus a restaurant would be a good business invest in. But how easy is it to open a restaurant in 2019? Consider the following:

Skills and Experience

To run a successful restaurant you have to be an experienced chef, or at least someone who knows their way around a restaurant’s kitchen. Without that experience, it will be hard not only to choose your ingredients but also to plan your business. If you are not an experienced chef, you have two options. One, you can invest in training.  Two, you can hire an experienced chef. A chef will cost around $20 to $40 per hour. 

Start Up Cost

When opening a restaurant, you will require money to buy furniture and kitchen essentials such as refrigerators, dishwashing machines, cooking pots, ovens and tableware. Additionally, you will require permits and licenses, and these too cost money. A small restaurant will cost roughly $250,000 and the cost can go up to $1 million or more if you are looking for something hi-tech. However, according to an article on Forbes, one investor opened his restaurant for $13,000. 

How large an investment you make depends on your target customers and how creative you can get. If you don’t have a big budget, you could start small and then look into restaurant financing to expand your operations. The Lending Express company’s resource on loans for restaurants highlights instances when you may require a loan for your restaurant. This is a company that offers help to business owners by linking them up with potential lenders. 

Marketing

Marketing a business in 2019 is pretty easy especially if you know your way around the internet. Many people these days are using search engines and social media to find places to eat as well as food delivery services. To market your business on social media, you simply have to create a page or profile, get people to like and follow your pages and keep them engaged by sharing interesting food related content. You can also use your page to share information on discounts and new items on the menu. To appear on search engines, create a website for your restaurant and don’t forget to indicate your address. Then, make a point of publishing restaurant and food related content often. YouTube videos and social media giveaways can also help in marketing your business. Finally, update your business information on Google My Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor and Yahoo Local Listings. However, don’t focus on online marketing only. Some offline advertising can help too. 

Location

The best location for your restaurant will depend on your target audience. You can build your own restaurant, buy an existing one, rent a space in a building, or even buy and operate from a food truck. 

While everything else can be easy, remember it is your menu that will keep your customers coming back. Therefore, if you choose to open a restaurant, have something unique to offer. 

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5 Ways to Improve Your Customer Relationships

Business

Having a good relationship with your customers is essential if you want to be successful and achieve growth in your business. Improving your customer relationships should be high up there on your list of priorities when running your own business as it can either be the key to success or the key to your demise. There are many different features and software that are now available to help you improve your customer relationships, establish customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Customisation 

Customers like to feel special as this makes them feel appreciated and will make them more loyal to your company. A great way to go about this is to customise and personalise each of your customers experience with you. This can include sending individual emails out to your customers that address them by name so that they know you are making the effort to email them directly. 

You should also consider sending your loyal customers a newsletter using software like Mailchimp to keep them up to date on developments in your business. 

Build Trust by Being More Transparent 

It is important that your customers trust you and one of the main ways to build this trust is by being transparent. While many businesses tend to keep their operations secret, you can build trust with your customers by letting them see what happens behind closed doors. This way, they have a greater understanding of what it is you do and what your staff are doing daily. 

You should consider inviting them to your business headquarters and give your customers a chance to have a look around where you work and give them a guided tour. This will help your clients feel special and appreciative while giving them a better understanding of how your business functions. However, it also gives you the opportunity to build a personal relationship with your customers as you can spend time talking to them and getting to know them better. This personal relationship is often lacking in modern day business negotiations so can make for a great added extra. 

It Is About More Than Just the Sale 

Sometimes businesses make the mistake of focussing too much on just the sale transaction and neglect the opportunities available to improve their customer relationships. While it is important that sales staff meet targets and keep the sales coming in, sometimes being too pushy with customers can make customers feel like you don’t really care about them and just want their business. It is important to show your customers that you do care about them as just because they aren’t interested in buying your services or products today, this doesn’t mean they won’t be in the future. 

Sometimes a customer will come back to you later when they have had some time to consider the purchase, so it is important that you make a good impression even if you aren’t making a sale right there and then. 

By focusing more on the overall customer experience when they interact with your business in any way, you can ensure that you are developing positive relationships with your customers. 

Offer Interesting and Helpful Content 

A lot of the internet is now full of content that is used to entice online traffic, in the hope of turning views into sales. Therefore, it is important that you carefully consider the sort of content your customers will find the most helpful and relevant. Offering information that may help them is a bonus reason why they should choose your business over any of your competitors. 

You should also make sure that your content stands out and is interesting enough to hold your customers’ attention. According to Mail Online, the internet age has made us have shorter attention spans due to ‘information overload’. Therefore, it is more important than ever before to offer interesting content on your website so that you hold the attention of visitors and customers. 

Monitor and Review Feedback  

Potential customers are likely to research your company before they do business with you in the form of previous customer reviews. Therefore, it is important that you ask previous customers to review their experiences with you and show these reviews online for people to see. This will help with transparency, as well as offer a way for you to brag about how good you are! 

However, not all reviews are going to be 100 percent positive, so be sure to respond to all feedback to show you keep on top of customer issues. 

Customer relationships are key to your success as a company, as the happier your customers are, the more likely they are to use your business again, and they may also discuss their positive experience with their friends as a way of a recommendation. So, make sure you consider customer relations as important as customer sales.

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Does Your Small Business Need a Lift?

Business

How well is your small business faring these days?

If you are seeing some troubles with your business, you do not want to wait too long to tackle them.

Money Will Oftentimes Be the Number One Challenge

For many, enough money around will oftentimes be the number one challenge they face.

That said do not feel as if you don’t have any options should money be tight these days.

One avenue you might want to travel down would be attempting to access a line of credit.

By seeing which provider is best suited to help you, you move closer to getting a big weight off your shoulders.

In searching to find the right line of credit provider, be sure you do your homework. The last thing you want or need is getting involved with a company not looking out for your best interests.

With this in mind, do some background research on any provider you think about trying to get credit from.

Among the things you’d want to learn about them:

· How long in business?

· What kind of track record they have when it comes to working with small businesses such as yours.

· If they have a top-notch record of customer service with small business owners

By doing your research, you could get that line of credit you need sooner than later.

Finances May Not Be Your Only Need

As important as money is to run a small business, you may have some other needs that you do not want to overlook right now.

For example, how much time and effort are you putting into marketing your brand?

Some small business owners are very adept at marketing their companies. For others, it can be a big mess.

If you do not have the time or expertise for that matter to promote your brand, it would behoove you to find those who can.

One option is to look for an SEO agency.

If you are not familiar with search engine optimization, know that it can do wonders for you.

The right SEO pros can help you with the following:

· Stellar content for your website

· Making sure you use keywords that rank high on Google with such content

· Quality backlinks

· Driving traffic to your website

· Promoting your brand on social media

· Better referral marketing

Those are but a few of the things SEO pros can bring to the table for you and your business.

Last, it is important to promote your business outside of SEO and other such options.

One that should come to mind for you is networking dates, trade shows, community events and more.

By showing consumers what you have to offer, you can be lifting your brand to new heights.

Look at the beginning of the year to see which events locally and in other locales are worth your time to attend. When you set aside time and money to be there, you open the doors to potential business.

When you have a sound business plan in place, chances are that plan will be lifting you and your brand to success.

So, does your small business need a lift before it is too late?

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Discovering London’s Hidden Treasures

Fashion Travel

London is without a doubt one of the most exciting cities in the world – but when you’re trying to enjoy its attractions it can feel overwhelming! The Natural History Museum at a weekend is full to capacity, and if you take a walk through Regent’s Park on a summer afternoon it can be difficult to find the perfect available picnic spot.

Today we’re taking a look at some of the hidden treasures of London, to help you discover the corners of the capital that are less well trodden and can belong to you!

Getting Outdoors

One of the great things about London is that it has so much open, green space. The parks in the middle of the city can get very crowded, especially in good weather, but if you look a little further afield, you’ll find parks, commons and gardens that are free to use and packed with beautiful flowers, trees and ponds where you can relax and soak up some of the sights and sounds of nature even in one of the world’s most populous cities.

Wandsworth Common, for example, is over 170 acres of public common land, with open grassy spaces, woodland, and ponds. It’s also much less busy than the more popular Clapham Common just up the road – so if you’re looking for a less travelled place to spend a sunny day, it’s a perfect hidden treasure for you.

Taking Care of Yourself

London life can be as stressful as it is exciting, so you need to know the places you can go to relax and restore yourself. If you’re in need of a moisturising facial then Skinsmiths’ Skin Clinic London locations offer a respite from the stress of city living. Finding some specialists to help counteract the effects of late nights and pollution on your skin can be the key to truly enjoying life in London, not just by making you look your best, but also putting you at the peak of your confidence.

Museums

One of the big attractions of this city is the cultural life it gives you access to: museums and galleries containing some of the world’s most extraordinary relics and artworks. Unfortunately, at peak times they can be so overwhelmingly crowded, it’s hard to appreciate the beauty that’s in front of you.

There are two London life hacks that can help you enjoy more art and archaeology! Firstly, you can look further afield. Smaller collections are often less busy than the Tate Britain or Victoria and Albert Museum: the Wallace Collection lies a few streets back from Oxford Street, and is one of a large number of smaller but nonetheless beautifully stocked galleries where you can escape the crowds and drink in some of the most awe-inspiring artworks from across the world and history.

The other secret treasure London offers that you need to discover are museum and gallery lates! Most of the major museums and art galleries in the city open late at least one night a week, with some of them simply offering more time to enjoy their collections and others offering talks, events, tours and refreshments. They are hidden treasures that add a whole extra dimension to the cultural life of London!

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Cologne vs Perfume: What is the Difference?

Fashion Shopping

Perfume

Perfume

Most people will discuss perfume as being a female scent and cologne being a male one. However, nothing could be further than the truth. In fact, both men and women can wear cologne or perfume. Why is this the case? Let’s take a look at the difference between them.

Just a Percentage

All scents are simply diluted versions of perfume oil. We could not use the actual perfume oil as our scent as it would be far too overpowering; even a single drop would go a very long way. Producing 100% perfume would also be ridiculously expensive. To drive costs down and make scents more affordable, perfumiers dilute the oils down to make a selection of concentrations which you have probably seen listed but may not have completely understood.

Perfume

Perfume, sometimes also called parfum, is the highest concentration of perfume you can find on the market. The percentage of perfume oil is between 15-40% and the scent ranges anywhere between 6-8 hours. This does, however also make it the most expensive and the rarest. Not every fragrance on the market will have a perfume option and it needs to be worn carefully if you do buy one.

Eau de Parfum

The most common description of women’s perfume is often eau de parfum. This usually has a concentration of 15-20% and lasts around 5-6 hours. It is one of the most readily available types of scent. If you are looking for a women’s fragrance which will last a serious length of time, the eau de parfum is one you want to check out.

Eau de Cologne

This is the concentration most often talked about when discussing fragrance for men. Coming in with a percentage of 2-4%, it only lasts about 2-3 hours on the skin and it is significantly cheaper than any of the others on this list. If you are buying an eau de cologne, it is extremely important that you don’t expect much longevity from it as this is not what it is designed for.

Who Can Wear What?

At the end of the day, the concentration of perfume in a scent is in no way tied to gender. If you are a woman who wants to wear eau de cologne then go ahead! Likewise, if you are a man who wants to wear a perfume, there is nothing to stop you from doing so. Investigate which styles of scent might be best for you and try it out on your skin.

The percentage of perfume is truly what makes or breaks the fragrance. You cannot expect something which is only 2% perfume oil to last all day; especially when there are things on the market which contain 40%. Likewise, you might think that the high concentrations of true perfume are too much for you and decide you want to opt for something lighter like the eau de parfum. Experimentation is absolutely key here. Do your research and have a look around the market to see what might suit you the most. You need to always fully trial a fragrance before you commit to buying it.

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The Evolution of the Fitness Industry

Sports

fitness industry

The health and fitness industry continues to evolve around the world, and in the US it surpassed $30 billion alone. It has been a similar process in the UK, as more and more of us become aware of the benefits of keeping both physically and mentally fit. The fitness industry has shown no sign of slowing down, so this is only set to continue to grow in the coming years. Whether this is sorting your health out or simply getting in shape for that Vegas summer holiday, in which you may want to use the Book of Ra bonus, ahead of the slots in the major casinos. Here we cover some of the key changes that have taken place in recent times.

  • Virtual training is now available

Fitness classes are still a growing fitness trend and a popular choice for many alongside personal training. However, this has now all become available from your own home through virtual training, which is a popular choice for those who dread training in a gym in front of others. There are a vast number of training options available both free and paid, so it does not have to cost for you to get training. You can also fit this in with your busy lifestyles and train at any time of the day.

fitness industry
Source: https://www.guysgab.com/top-5-fitness-video-games/

          

  • Fitness Apps

Similar to the previous points with the freely available access of Apps. A large amount of us now have smartphones, so many of these apps can be acquired easily, with many at zero cost. These include the likes of the popular Nike running app or Freeletics training. Zwift run and bike are also becoming a very popular choice for a man, as it brings a fun element for training within your home, which many do during the winter months.

  • Active wear

There are now a vast amount of options available when choosing your clothing whilst training. This is completely changed from the days of spandex and neon colors, which were rather embarrassing back in the 80s. You can now acquire high-quality products for very little cost, due to the competitive nature of the industry. With these high-level products, it means it has never been a better time to be getting involved in fitness training.

  • Wearable technology

Whether competitively training or not, many of us are looking to keep track of our training and progress. This can now be done through some top end smartphones but it is wearable technology that is the best for this. As with everything in the fitness industry, it is a competitive market, which means you can get a lot for your money. These watches can track virtually anything you need to know from max heart rate to overtraining. These products are a fantastic addition to get you improving yourself each time you train. Polar offers some of the best products on the market with their Vantage series proving popular.

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College Stress Management Tips You Want To Try Out

Education

Stress naturally appears when tension levels are higher than energy levels. As a result, you end up feeling overloaded. College students know the feeling more than most. Student life is always exciting but there are also so many things that have to be done that it is quite impossible to not be stressed out.

Fortunately, there are always ways in which you can deal with stress. Before you applied to college you read American Musical And Dramatic Academy Reviews or similar articles. During college, there are many things that can be done, like the following.

Make Sure You Get As Much Sleep As You Need

Student life is always so busy. There are many things that you can do so you may often find yourself awake at 4 AM in the morning, only to then have class at around 8 AM. When you first go through this schedule, it will not be a problem. However, as time passes, it gets more and more difficult to deal with all the stress you will feel.

You want to be sure that you get as much sleep as the body needs. A failure to do this will lead to numerous health problems, like obesity, depression and diabetes. Generally speaking, you do need at least 8 hours of sleep every single night. Follow this tip and your body will be much more equipped to deal with stress.

Make Sure You Eat Well

When you just eat fast food, you can be sure your health deteriorates and you end up stressed out of your mind. The body’s energy levels go down when your diet is not a good one. Be sure that your diet is rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. At the same time, do all that you can that you get all the macronutrients the body needs.

Start Exercising

Stress management is not as easy as you might initially think. Whenever you are stressed, the best thing you can do is to work out, even if you really do not feel like it. The great news is that you just need around 20 minutes per day in order to drastically reduce your stress levels. According to specialists, all exercise types work, as long as you enjoy it and you get the body moving. Options like yoga and swimming are very popular among college students but you can also go full out on MMA training or power lifting. Just do what you enjoy.

Do Not Use Fake Energy Boosters

You surely heard about countless students that rely on artificial stimulants like prescription medication, caffeine pills or energy drinks in order to stay awake when study sessions are long. The problem is that when you put the body through a diet that includes these fake energy boosters, you end up depriving it of sleep. This brings us to the problem already mentioned above.

Emotional Support Helps

It is sometimes really tough to adapt and adjust to college life. A way to do this is to have friends so that you can vent all your frustrations. Choose family members or friends that will not judge you or try to give advice. You can so easily reduce stress when you just vent a little.

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Dementia Often Manifests in Bouts of Rage – A Look at Alternative Treatments

Health & Fitness

Sometimes it is quite difficult to detect the onset of Alzheimer’s or dementia of any cause because it starts slowly with little bits of such things as absentmindedness or distraction which can happen to anyone of any age. However, as the disease progresses, other behavioral changes begin to take place and this is where a loving family member or friend begins to understand that medical intervention must be sought. It can be a really hard road ahead and medical treatments are not always as effective or as safe as they might be so growing numbers of people are seeking alternative treatments. Here are a few of the most popular.

Acupuncture

For centuries acupuncture has been used in the Far East as a treatment for literally any disease imaginable from the common cold to rheumatoid arthritis. If you are unfamiliar with the practice, it has to do with tiny, tiny needles being inserted into the body at very specific locations where nerve centers reside. In the UK there have been some studies as to the efficacy of acupuncture as an alternative treatment for Alzheimer’s but what was concluded was that the reason why sufferers found some amount of relief was due to a relaxation in muscles controlled by the stimulation of nerves in those areas.

Bright Light Therapy

One of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia is the inability to sleep for long periods of time and to be a light sleeper who is roused easily. Studies show promise in which patients were seated in front of a light, a very bright light many times brighter than an office light, for a half hour a day. The results were amazing and many patients were then able to sleep a good part of the night.

CBD Oil

Another of the big symptoms in later stage Alzheimer’s is the manifestation of bouts of rage, extreme rage for seemingly no apparent reason. Regular consumption of CBD oil is found to lesson both the frequency and duration of those fits of rage. CBD, cannabidiol, is a substance found in marijuana and is found to be effective as a mild sedative or relaxant. There are also studies coming out of Australia from the Neuroscience Research team that suggests some of the cognitive disorders associated with Alzheimer’s may even be reduced with the regular consumption of CBDs and CBD oil, the non-psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

While other alternative therapies such as massage may also have a calming effect on those suffering from those bouts of rage, few alternative treatments (if any!) show such promise as CBD oil. While further studies have yet to be done, according to Ian Weisberg, Dr. Tim Karl and his colleagues have proven that mice who were bred with the same type disease as Alzheimer’s are getting positive results. Because of this, scientists around the globe are now looking at alternative therapies such as CBD oil as the hidden key they have long been looking for. There are a great number of other treatments which many claim to work but those do not have enough research to support their claims. To date, the above have shown proven signs of efficacy and are likely to be the treatments that further research will target.

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