Bruce Lee died from too much water: study

Doctors believe they have discovered the secret behind the brain swelling that caused Bruce Lee’s death.

The legendary martial artist and actor died in Hong Kong on July 20, 1973 at the age of 32 from a brain swelling – which doctors now say was caused by drinking too much water.

“We suspect that the kidney’s inability to eliminate excess water killed Bruce Lee,” researchers write in the upcoming issue of the Clinical Kidney Journal. “Ironically, Lee made the quote ‘Be water my friend’ famous – but excess water seems to have killed him in the end.”

At the time, doctors believed the brain swelling was due to a painkiller, but nearly 50 years after the Enter the Dragon icon’s death, research shows he likely died of hyponatremia — low levels of sodium in the blood caused by can cause too much water or fluid in the body, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The researchers’ findings are a far cry from what people once speculated about his death, including rumors that he was murdered by gangsters, poisoned by a jealous lover, victim of a curse and died of heat stroke.

The scientists argue that Lee had multiple risk factors for hyponatremia, including high fluid intake, factors that might increase thirst – such as marijuana use, and factors that impair the kidneys’ ability to excrete water – such as use of prescription drugs, Alcohol, previous kidney injury, or low solute intake.

The researchers note Lee’s history that may be relevant to his cause of death — including excessive water intake.

Lee’s wife, Linda, once mentioned his fluid-based diet of “carrot and apple juice.” Matthew Polly, author of the 2018 book Bruce Lee: A Life, repeatedly referenced Lee’s water intake throughout the day — including preparing for it until he fell ill.

“I think we had some water… that probably made him a little tired and thirsty. After a few sips he seemed a little dizzy… Immediately after feeling faint Bruce complained of a headache,” Polly wrote in the book.

The researchers took the fact that such a mundane activity as water intake kept getting noticed as evidence that it was a noticeably higher intake than others on the day Lee died.

Other factors in Lee’s medical history that the researchers considered potentially relevant were cannabis, alcohol, low dietary solute intake, prescription drugs, diuretics, opioids, renal dysfunction, exercise, and a previous episode of cerebral edema two months before his death .

“In conclusion, we hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of renal dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is primarily a tubular function,” the researchers wrote. “This can result in hyponatremia, cerebral edema, and death within hours if excessive water intake is not matched by urinary water excretion, consistent with the timing of Lee’s death.”