Liz Hodgkinson

I want to get a forum going about health in old age. First of all, I wonder whether I'm unusual in that, at 66, I seem to be completely healthy and take no pills or medication at all, not even vitamins or minerals.
I never go to the doctor - haven't been for about 20 years - and I refuse all the check-ups that are offered by the NHS. My own health regime is simple and works for me. For over 30 years now I have been vegetarian and although I've been told that I may be deficient in protein, I'm not quite sure how such a deficiency would manifest itself. Certainly there don't seem to be any obvious deficiencies: I don't suffer from undue tiredness and have plenty of energy for my daily tasks, which include several tough workouts at the gym every week. I am convinced that there are three elements responsible for my good health: no medication, regular workouts and a vegetarian diet. Plus of course I pay strict attention to my weight, in the belief that overweight is the biggest health destroyer of all.
Now although genes and hereditary obviously play a part, there have been a number of early deaths in my family, so I shouldn't be too complacent, but at the moment I have no symptoms of any age-related condition. The question I'm asking is: am I unusual, or are most women of my age in the same healthy condition as myself?
And men too, come to that. Although very many women of my age seem to be perfectly healthy with abundant energy levels, this is not the case with most of the men I know. Just about all of them are on pills of one kind or another; beta-blockers, warfarin and statins seem to be the most widely prescribed, bur large numbers are also on NSAIDs for arthritis.
Talking to a doctor friend recently, she said that all doctors' surgeries and all hospitals have a small number of very high users, rather than the other way round.
So, in order to get a dialogue and discussion going, I would be interested to hear what others in this age group have to say about their state of health - and if they are in good health, what is their secret?
The main reason I'm asking is that older age is traditionally associated with severe health decline. But is this now out of date as we baby boomers head towards our own old age?