American scientists have created a "supercarrot" which may protect against conditions such as brittle bone disease and osteoporosis.
The genetically-engineered carrot provides 41% more calcium than a normal carrot and they hope that the addition of the vegetable to a normal diet could help prevent the debilitating bone conditions.
According to Professor Kendal Hirschi at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, the carrots were grown in carefully monitored and controlled environments at Texas A&M AgriLife's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center.
The research team say those who ate the carrot had a two-fold increase in calcium absorption.
However they say the calcium enriched vegetable needs more research and many safety trials before it will be available to consumers.
The scientists hope their carrot could ultimately offer a healthier way of consuming sufficient quantities of calcium of which the primary dietary source is dairy foods.
However many people for one reason or another have been advised to avoid consuming too much dairy foods.
By tinkering with a gene in the researchers created a carrot which allows calcium to cross more easily over the plant membranes.
Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body and more than 99% of total body calcium is stored in the bones and teeth, the rest is found throughout the body in blood, muscle, and the fluid between cells.
Calcium is needed for muscle contraction, blood vessel contraction and expansion, the secretion of hormones and enzymes, and also for sending messages through the nervous system.