Is a Juicer or a Blender Better for Increasing my Fruit and Vegetable Intake?

I am trying to consume more fruits and vegetables in order to lose weight and get more soluble fiber to lower my LDL cholesterol. I'm trying to figure out if it's better to use a juicer (because I've heard this leaves out some of the fiber) or a blender (which I understand makes the food more difficult to digest).  Thanks, Joe. S.

Dear Joe,
It seems to me, chewing your fruits and vegetables naturally blenderizes them. When the chewed food gets to your stomach and the acid starts to break it down you are naturally juicing them! One reason people use juicers or blenders is to put more parts of the fruit or vegetable in than they would normally consume (seeds, pulp, core, etc). You can get enough soluble fiber from eating most fruits and vegetables with the skin on (such as apples, carrots, cucumbers, etc) but there is no reason to try eating orange skin (although the membrane just inside the skin and around each section has most of the soluble fiber you want) or apple cores.
Aim for 10-12 fruits and vegetables (combined) per day to get all the vitamins and fiber you need from this food group. You might want to start out slowly (increase by 2-3 servings a day) if you aren't used to all that fiber to give your gastrointestinal tract time to adjust. Bloating and stomach aches can be signs of taking in too much fiber too fast.