Name: 【聽Podcast學英文】愛吃糖到牙齒變黑？揭開英國女王與糖的黑歷史！ (Addicted to sugar ⏲️ 6 Minute English)
Uploaded: 2026-01-14T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 6 min 24 s

Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，歡迎收聽 BBC 學英文的《六分鐘英語》。

Just as our addiction to oil is causing a climate emergency,

就像我們對石油的依賴正在造成氣候緊急狀況一樣，

our addiction to sugar is causing a health emergency for our bodies.

我們對糖的依賴也正在為身體帶來健康危機。

Sugar gives us an instant hit of the chemical hormone dopamine, making us feel good, but

糖會讓我們立刻分泌化學荷爾蒙多巴胺，讓人感覺愉快，但

in the long run causing obesity, tooth decay and diseases like diabetes.

長期下來卻會導致肥胖、蛀牙，以及像糖尿病這樣的疾病。

But how did our addiction to the sweet stuff begin?

那麼，我們對甜食的成癮是如何開始的呢？

That's what we'll be discussing in this program.

這就是我們今天節目要討論的主題。

And as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

而且一如往常，我們也會學到一些實用的新單字。

Now, before we go on, I have a question for you.

在繼續之前，我有一個問題要問你。

Sugar cane, which grows naturally in Asia, Africa and the Americas,

甘蔗原產於亞洲、非洲和美洲，

first came to England in the 11th century.

Back then, it was an expensive luxury item, a fortune only to kings, queens and the very rich.

在那個時代，它是昂貴的奢侈品，只有國王、王后和極少數富人買得起。

So which English monarch loved eating sugar so much their teeth turned black?

那麼，是哪一位英國君主因為太愛吃糖，牙齒變成黑色呢？

Was it A) King Henry VIII, B) Queen Elizabeth I, or C) Mary Queen of Scots?

是 A）亨利八世，B）伊莉莎白一世，還是 C）蘇格蘭瑪麗女王？

I know Henry VIII was very unhealthy, so I'll guess it's him.

我知道亨利八世很不健康，所以我猜是他。

OK, Georgie, we'll find out the answer later in the program.

好的，Georgie，我們稍後會揭曉答案。

Just now I compared sugar to oil as the world's most important commodity.

剛剛我把糖和石油相比，稱它們為世界上最重要的商品。

A commodity is a product or natural resource that can be traded, bought and sold.

「商品」是指可以被交易、買賣的產品或天然資源。

Today, economies, governments and wars are based on controlling oil.

今天的經濟、政府，甚至戰爭，都建立在對石油的控制上。

But in earlier centuries, the same was true of sugar.

但在早期的幾個世紀，糖也有同樣的地位。

For 400 years, sugar, along with coffee and tobacco,

長達 400 年間，糖與咖啡、菸草一樣，

was grown in slavery plantations and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

是在奴隸種植園中生產，並跨越大西洋運往歐洲。

the demand for sugar in Europe and the United States was at a record high.

歐洲和美國對糖的需求已達到歷史新高。

Here's professor of international history, Ulba Bosmer,

explaining more to BBC Radio 4 program, Thinking Allowed.

在 BBC Radio 4《Thinking Allowed》節目中的說明。

Sugar was already an extremely important commodity in the 16th and 17th and 18th century.

在 16、17 和 18 世紀，糖已經是極為重要的商品。

And in the 19th century, we see a staggering growth of sugar consumption in Europe and the United States.

而在 19 世紀，歐洲和美國的糖消費量出現了驚人的成長。

And so with that, sugar became the fuel for human bodies,

whereas oil became the fuel for vehicles in the 20th century.

就如同石油在 20 世紀成了交通工具的燃料。

Professor Bosmer talks about the staggering growth in the popularity of sugar.

Bosmer 教授提到糖的普及出現了「驚人的成長」。

The adjective staggering means shocking or surprising.

形容詞「staggering」意思是令人震驚、出乎意料的。

Just like oil became the fuel for machine engines,

就像石油成為機械引擎的燃料一樣，

sugar became the Fuel for the human body.

Fuel is a substance that is burned to provide heat or power.

「燃料」是指燃燒後能提供熱能或動力的物質。

Trading companies had become rich selling sugar grown using slave labor.

貿易公司靠販售使用奴隸勞動生產的糖而致富。

When people began to realize the health problems of Sugar in the 20th century,

當 20 世紀人們開始意識到糖帶來的健康問題時，

these companies needed new ways to sell their product

這些公司必須找到新的方式來銷售產品，

and began using sugar in food which had previously contained none.

於是開始在原本不含糖的食物中加入糖。

Here's Professor Bosma again, taking up the story for BBC Radio 4's Thinking Aloud.

以下 Bosmer 教授再次在 BBC Radio 4《Thinking Allowed》中繼續說明。

You can flood the market with a certain commodity with sugar in this case, but

你可以讓某種商品充斥市場，例如糖，但

that still does not mean that people will consume it.

這並不代表人們就一定會消費它。

So the eating habits of people had to change.

因此，人們的飲食習慣必須改變。

People until the early 19th century, they had a few spoons of sugar per week, but

直到 19 世紀初，人們一週只吃幾匙糖，

not a kilo, which people consume today in many countries in the world.

而不是像現在許多國家一樣，一年吃掉好幾公斤。

Sugar companies flooded the market with their commodity.

糖公司讓糖這項商品大量充斥市場。

If you flood the market, you make a lot of your product available for sale, often at a low price.

「充斥市場」指的是大量、通常以低價供應某種產品。

But just because something is cheap and easily available doesn't mean people will eat it.

但便宜又容易取得，並不代表人們一定會吃。

So sugar companies try to increase sugar consumption by changing people's eating habits,

因此，糖公司試圖透過改變人們的飲食習慣來提高糖的消耗量，

For example, which types of food they eat, how much of it, and how often.

例如吃哪些食物、吃多少，以及吃的頻率。

Instead of one or two spoons of sugar per week,

people started eating kilos, with results we see around us every day -

變成一年吃好幾公斤，結果我們每天都看得到——

worldwide obesity and heart disease have tripled in the last 50 years.

過去 50 年來，全球肥胖和心臟病人數增加了三倍。

What's more, because sugary food is cheaper,

it's often the poorest in society who are worst affected.

社會中最貧困的人往往受到最嚴重的影響。

Maybe it's time to try having your tea without any sugar, eh, Neil?

也許你該試試喝茶不加糖了，對吧，Neil？

And to reveal the answer to your question,

which English monarch's famous love of sugar turned their teeth black?

是哪位英國君主因為愛吃糖而牙齒變黑？

I guessed it was the notorious overeater Henry VIII.

我猜是惡名昭彰、暴飲暴食的亨利八世。

Which was the wrong answer, I'm afraid, Georgie.

In fact, during the years before toothpaste and dentists, those black, stumpy teeth belonged to Queen Elizabeth I.

事實上，在牙膏和牙醫出現之前，那些黑黑短短的牙齒屬於伊莉莎白一世女王。

Ok, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this program about sugar.

好，讓我們來複習今天關於糖所學到的單字。

Starting with a sweet tooth, a fondness for eating sweet, sugary food and drinks.

首先是 sweet tooth，指的是對甜食的喜愛。

commodity 指的是可以被交易、買賣的產品或天然資源。

Fuel is a substance, such as oil or coal that is burned to provide heat or power.

fuel 是指像石油或煤這樣，燃燒後能提供熱能或動力的物質。

The adjective staggering means very shocking and surprising.

形容詞 staggering 意思是非常令人震驚、出乎意料的。

If a company floods the market, they release a lot of a particular product for sale, often at a low price.

如果一家公司 flood the market，表示他們大量、通常以低價推出產品。

And finally, eating habits describe the way a particular group of people eat.

最後，eating habits 指的是某一群人吃東西的方式。

For example, which types of food they eat, how much, and how often.

例如他們吃哪些食物、吃多少，以及吃的頻率。

Join us again soon for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.

歡迎下次再回到《六分鐘英語》，學習熱門話題與實用單字。