Melissa,

There are many good basic books on natural remedies and herbal medicine. These will describe the actions of the herbs (pharmakinetics), contraindications (if known) and recommended dosages.  Ayurveda recommends starting with the smallest recommened dose and then increasing if needed.  The key is to pay attention to how your body (and mind) is responding.

I personally believe that every household should have a good herbal handbook or two and some home remedy guides on hand.  A small problem or imbalance can usually be addressed with simple foods, culinary herb and spices and/or a basic herbal combination before the problem becomes more serious.  

 I am going to paste the Amazon links to several of my favourite books below, so that you can browse through and read about them.  See which titles resonate with you.  Most are available in paperback.

The Yoga of Herbs, by Vasant Lad and David Frawley.  I especially like the way herbal therapeutic actions are described in this book.  Knowing the energetics of the herb helps me understand the likely effect on my body.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0941524248/qid=1116094782/sr=2-1/ref=p...

The Herbal Handbook by David Hoffman.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0892817828/ref=pd_sim_b_1/102-3...

School of Natural Healing by John R Christopher.  This is a classic and very useful reference. As with many successful natural health practitioners, Dr. Christopher was forced out of practice by the AMA and Pharma and moved to teaching the knowledge instead.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1879436019/qid=/sr=/ref=cm_lm_a...

Prescription Alernatives by Earl L. Mindell.  This is a very useful book that describes the actions and hazards of many of the most commonly prescribed prescription drugs and offers natural alternatives.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071413189/qid=1116094926/sr=2-1/ref=p...

The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies. by Vasant Lad

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609802860/ref=pd_bxgy_text_1/1...=*