DEAR DR. ROACH: I wonder if we can trust the health guidelines coming from government agencies. How will doctors make recommendations if the guidelines may not be scientifically rigorous? -- T.D.

ANSWER: For many decades, the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, the United States Food and Drug Administration, and other governmental bodies have been based on sound science with some of the best experts in the world collaborating to give trustworthy advice. There have been some lapses and changes in the understanding of the science so that recommendations change to keep up with the latest research.

With recent and dramatic changes in funding, personnel and philosophy, it’s more important than ever for practicing physicians to look at all t

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