Reddit reviews Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution (Your Ayurvedic Constitution Revised Enlarged Second Edition)

I recommend books by David Hoffmann, perhaps the foremost known British herbalist today (the link is to a page about him on Jim McDonald's website), especially his earlier books, for example, this one, not necessarily what has been published in the last decade or so, such as the formidable volume 'Medical Herbalism' (which I found to be lacking in depth).

For Ayurveda, perhaps the reference of choice for an independent/aspiring herbalist, should be 'The Yoga of Herbs' by David Frawley & Vasant Lad. Also, read up on Ayurveda, if you haven't yet, e.g. the highly accessible Robert Svoboda's 'Prakriti' or other books by the already mentioned Vasant Lad.

For medicine making another must-have reference is 'Making Plant Medicine' by Richo Cech.

Also, explore the resources on Henriette Kress's website, especially the classical texts from the Eclectic period.

There really are many other sources, from which you can draw both knowledge and inspiration, depending on the need of the moment.

I would also highely recommend the work of Paul Bergner, including but not limited to the links found here.

Robert Svabodha's PrakRti: Your Ayurvedic Constiution is a good, accessible, and reasonably authoritative book in my view.

http://www.amazon.com/Prakriti-Constitution-Dr-Robert-Svoboda/dp/0965620832

At the very least, a book like this offers you a way of thinking about and working with your physical/mental/lifestyle habits, health, etc. While I don't think the cukes for red hot chilli peppers exchange will on its own "cure" a pitta aggravated condition, it may help you not get heartburn or feel uncomfortably hot after eating. This is to say, introducing some Ayruvedic changes will help you will feel more 'in control' - a positive pitta trait, rather than aggravated and frustrated. Question: does spicy food give you any digestive problem over the three phases of digestion?

Ayurveda is the ancient medical science of India. I got into it because I am a doctor (trained in modern medicine) and started getting interested in meditation and the mind-body connection. Ayurveda is a sister science of Yoga. It considers the mind, emotions, food, digestion and other aspects when treating the body. Modern medicine has a very limited view of illness; it is mostly driven by using pharmaceutical drugs - which rarely resolve the problem at a fundamental level, and frequently create further imbalance in our finely tuned physiological systems.

I can recommend the books "Prakriti" by Robert Svoboda and Ayurveda and Panchakarma by Sunil Joshi as an excellent introduction to the subject.