How Did Bruce Lee Die? New Study Says Bruce Lee May Have Died From Drinking Too Much Water

Nearly 50 years after Bruce Lee's death, doctors have suggested that the kung-fu icon may have passed away from consuming too much water.

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The martial arts icon and Hollywood celebrity passed away in Hong Kong in the summer of 1973 at the age of 32.

At the time, an autopsy revealed that Bruce had died from brain swelling, which physicians attributed to the use of painkillers by him.

His sudden demise sparked speculation that he might have been the victim of a curse, poisoned by a jealous lover, or killed by Chinese gangsters.

The idea that he passed away from heatstroke was another.

Researchers have now examined the available data and determined that Bruce most likely died from hyponatremia.

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'In other words, we propose that the kidney’s inability to excrete excess water killed Bruce Lee,' the team of experts wrote in the Clinical Kidney Journal.

The term hyponatremia refers to an abnormally low blood sodium level, which your body requires for fluid balance.

Body cells, particularly those in the brain, swelling as a result of an imbalance.

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According to the study, Bruce had a number of risk factors for hyponatremia, including a high fluid intake, cannabis usage, which makes people thirstier, and other factors that decrease kidney function, like drinking alcohol and using prescription medicines.

In the months leading up to his passing, Bruce reportedly only consumed fluids like carrot and apple juice, according to his wife Linda.

Additionally, Matthew Polly, who wrote the biography Bruce Lee, A Life in 2018, mentions that Lee drank a lot of water the night before he passed away.

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The study concluded: 'We hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is mainly a tubular function.’

'This may lead to hyponatremia, cerebral oedema (brain swelling) and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine, which is in line with the timeline of Lee’s demise.'

It was likely "noticeably higher" than those around him on the day of his death, the researchers concluded, because the drinking of water was recognized despite the fact that it is "such a commonplace activity."

Bruce is reportedly said to have smoked marijuana frequently and to have written in one letter that he was "stoned as hell."

Cannabis use can make you thirstier, and Mr. Polly mentions using the drug repeatedly on July 20, 1973—the day Bruce died—in his book.

The researchers hypothesize that Bruce may have been influenced by this to consume too much water.

'Ironically, Lee made famous the quote "Be water my friend", but excess water appears to have ultimately killed him,' they wrote.