BRUCE Lee Jun-fan – known worldwide as Bruce Lee – was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy that paved way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA).
Lee died unexpectedly on July 20, 1973, in Hong Kong, with officials ruling the cause was cerebral oedema (brain swelling) at the time.
However, close to five decades on, a new research paper suggests that his death was caused by his “kidney’s inability to excrete excess water”.
The study was published in the December 2022 edition of the Clinical Kidney Journal and was conducted by a group of kidney specialists in Spain.
The authors emphasised that Lee, who was 32 years old at his death, had “multiple risk factors for hyponatraemia”.
It indicated an abnormally low sodium concentration in one’s blood, citing the actor’s ‘chronic fluid intake’, with the use of marijuana which increases thirst, alcohol intake, documented factors that may have interfered with his kidney’s function. This includes prescription drugs used for pain and anxiety, besides accounts of injuries to the organ.
“We hypothesise that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction. The inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis which may lead to hyponatraemia, cerebral oedema, and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine.
“Given that hyponatraemia is frequent, as is found in up to 40% of hospitalised persons and may cause death due to excessive water ingestion even in young healthy persons, there is a need for a wider dissemination of the concept that excessive water intake can kill,” the paper concludes.
The sudden nature of Lee’s death has been a matter of fiery speculation for decades. Some fans hypothesised that the star was assassinated involving the underworld and a supposed ‘curse’ on him and his family. The notion persists even today.
In a 2018 biography, ‘Bruce Lee: A Life’, author Matthew Polly hypothesised that Lee died of heat exhaustion. But the study did not find that temperatures were abnormally high that day.
The study found that even though he had not consumed a huge amount of water, his kidneys were potentially not able to handle even normal amounts of fluid. In addition, Lee had reportedly been living on a near-liquid diet of mostly juices. – The Vibes, November 23, 2022
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