Today I will talk with you about the clever pairings of Zhibai Dihuang Pill. With these combinations, issues such as combined yin and yang deficiency, qi-yin deficiency, and heat above with cold below need not be feared.

Many friends have probably heard of Zhibai Dihuang Pill. It is essentially Liuwei Dihuang Wan with added Huangbai and Zhimu. In TCM, Liuwei Dihuang Wan is the classic formula for nourishing kidney yin; after adding Huangbai and Zhimu, Zhibai Dihuang Pill not only nourishes kidney yin but also clears and drains liver and kidney fire. It’s like giving the body’s “yin fluids” an umbrella of protection while extinguishing the excess “fire.”

Next, I will share three ace combinations of Zhibai Dihuang Wan.

The first combination is Jinguishenqi Wan; together these two can tonify both yin and yang. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes yin-yang balance, with the saying "when yin is injured, yang is affected; when yang is injured, yin is affected." If kidney yin deficiency persists for a long time, it easily develops into deficiency of both yin and yang. Such people tend to feel both cold and hot, have poor appetite, experience difficulty sleeping at night, and frequently have night sweats. In this case, Zhibai Dihuang Wan combined with Jinguishenqi Wan is very appropriate: one nourishes kidney yin, the other warms and tonifies kidney yang, restoring yin-yang balance.

The second combination is Buzhong Yiqi Wan, which can tonify both qi and yin. People with qi-yin deficiency often experience shortness of breath, talk little, have night sweats, sweat easily during the day, have dry mouth, and feel palpitations or unease. Zhibai Dihuang Wan nourishes kidney yin, while Buzhong Yiqi Wan can tonify the middle burner and augment qi, raise the sinking yang, and replenish the body's qi and yin so that the body's qi mechanism returns to normal and symptoms naturally ease.

The third combination is Jiaotai Wan, which facilitates communication between the Heart and Kidney. Many people feel heat in the upper body and cold in the lower body—this is the manifestation of "upper heat, lower cold." In TCM, this is often caused by lack of communication between Heart and Kidney. Kidney water cannot rise to quell Heart fire, and Heart fire cannot descend to warm the Kidney water, and the body becomes disordered. At this time, Zhibai Dihuang Wan combined with Jiaotai Wan can help the Heart and Kidney "reconnect," allowing Kidney water to rise and Heart fire to descend, resolving the problem of upper heat and lower cold.

So, if any of you have problems like combined yin-yang deficiency, qi-yin deficiency, or upper-heat/lower-cold patterns, you might try these combinations with Zhibai Dihuang Wan. However, medication should still be used under a doctor's guidance — you must not take it casually on your own.