how many essential amino acids are there

There are 9 essential amino acids for humans.

Quick Scoop: Essential Amino Acids

Essential amino acids are the ones your body cannot make on its own, so you must get them from food.

Those 9 essential amino acids are: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine.

In total, the body uses about 20–21 amino acids, but only 9 are in this “essential” category from a nutrition standpoint.

These 9 are key for protein synthesis, tissue repair, and many metabolic processes, which is why high‑quality protein foods (like eggs, dairy, meat, soy, and mixed plant proteins) are often highlighted for having all essential amino acids.

TL;DR: When people ask “how many essential amino acids are there?” the accepted scientific answer is nine.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.