There is a treasure in Chinese medicine that can treat various kinds of excess heat — it’s Anemarrhena (zhi mu)!

Nowadays people are busy with work and life moves fast, easily becoming anxious and irritable, with excessive internal heat. At times like this, zhi mu comes in handy; it nourishes yin and clears heat — it’s a good remedy!

First of all, Zhi Mu can clear Lung fire. When your lungs are hot or dry and you have a cough, do you feel chest tightness, coughing, shortness of breath, and have yellow sputum in your throat? At that time, you can try Zhi Mu Gan Ju Tang or Zhi Shi Xie Bai San, with modifications as needed — the effect is excellent! For those with Lung dryness, who have a dry mouth and a dry cough without phlegm, this is Lung yin deficiency. Er Dong Er Mu Tang, modified as needed, can also help solve the problem!

Next, let’s talk about Zhi Mu clearing Stomach fire. Some people’s mouths are as dry as a desert and they constantly want to drink water. Zhi Mu dispels dryness-heat, not damp-heat! Herbs like Huang Lian, Huang Qin, Huang Bai are for drying dampness and clearing heat, eliminating dampness. But Zhi Mu does not remove fluids; instead it nourishes yin. Yu Nu Jian is a classic formula that uses Zhi Mu!

Finally, Zhi Mu can also drain Kidney fire. Yin deficiency of the Kidney leads to exuberant yin-deficient fire; the fire generated in the Kidney is all deficient fire, because Kidney water is insufficient and the yang becomes overactive. At this time, you have a persistent deficient heat causing symptoms such as hot palms and soles, soreness and weakness of the lumbar region and knees, dark yellow urine, red tongue with little coating. In this case, use Zhi Mu to nourish yin and moisten dryness — Zhi Bai Di Huang Tang is a representative formula!

So, isn’t Zhi Mu a powerful Chinese herb? When you have internal heat, don’t forget it!