The mystery surrounding Bruce Lee’s death may have finally been solved 49 years later

Bruce Lee is perhaps the greatest martial artist the world has ever seen.

He died suddenly in July 1973, aged just 32, and the cause has been debated ever since.

At the time, an autopsy revealed that Lee’s brain was massively swollen and it was believed he died of cerebral edema that occurred as a result of taking the painkiller Equagesic.

But that may not be the whole story.

A new study has been published suggesting that the little dragon may have died from drinking too much water.

The team behind the study spent time reviewing the known facts surrounding Lee’s death and now believe it was the actor’s inability to handle the excess water that ultimately killed him.

“We now propose, based on an analysis of publicly available information, that the cause of death was cerebral edema due to hyponatremia,” the researchers write in the study, which was published in the Clinical Kidney Journal.

Hyponatremia occurs when fluid intake exceeds the kidneys’ ability to filter it from the blood. There is ample evidence that Lee drank heavily.

He reportedly gave up solid foods, and anecdotal evidence suggests that he consumed little more than carrot juice, apple juice, and sake.

On the day of his death, he reportedly developed nighttime headaches and dizziness after smoking cannabis and drinking water. He then took the Equagesic and was found to be unresponsive two hours later.

“In conclusion, Lee had multiple risk factors predisposing to hyponatremia due to disruption of water homeostasis mechanisms that regulate both water intake and excretion,” the researchers wrote.

“We suspect that Bruce Lee died of a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis.”

Ironically, one of Lee’s most famous philosophies was “be water, my friend”.