Cathie,

Absolutely. The stomach (gastric) acid and intrinsic factor are necessary for normal B12 absorption. Without enough acid (and certainly if there is no stomach involved, there is no acid) it is impossible to absorb from unfortified food. And without intrinsic factor (also coming from the normal stomach lining), severe malabsorption of B12 exists, meaning that a very large dose of B12 (at least 1000 mcg to be safe) must be taken for a small amount to be absorbed by default.

For a medical person not to know this and tell the patient, that medical person would be super ignorant, even beyond the usual.

rose