I wouldn't but I can see why some people would.

I can't point out where I draw the line clearly but here's one different I notice:

A recommendation can be both a thing and an action. A piece of text is a recommendation and it does not matter how it was created.

Assistance implies some parity in capabilities and cooperative work. Also it can pretty much only be an action, you cannot say "here is some assistance" and point to a thing.