Our physical bodies are comprised of 2\3 water and the earth upon which we live is made up of more than 2\3 water. That being the case, it is easy to conceive of water as simply a physical, coarse life necessity devoid of spirituality. Of course, we know that not to be true.
Water plays a prominent part in the spiritual life of a Jew. Mikvah, Netilas Yadayim, the water drawing ceremnony in the Temple, etc. Indeed, the torah itself is compared to water. The primary function of water is to remove impurity or lift the spiritual state of an object or person. For example, after we immerse our dishes in a mikvah they become usable, one who is in a spiritually impure state arises from the mikvah in a pure state. There are many such examples.
Eating is one of those activities that lends itself to being viewed as purely physical. The washing of our hands prior to eating the meal serves as a reminder of our ability to raise physical activities to lofty levels. When we wash our hands before eating, we set ourselves in the proper framework for elevating our meal through the recital of the proper blessings, the cultivating of the understanding that we eat in order to have proper sustenance to serve Hashem, and the sharing of divrei torah during our meal.
Just as water serves to elevate the spiritual status of objects and people, our washing in water reminds us that we also have the ability to raise the status of our meal from mundane to holy.
In addition to the ability of water to change our spiritual status, I have also learned an appreciation to Hashem for the healing properties of water. Some examples: vaporizers/humidifiers, ice packs/cold water compresses, moist hotpacks, footbaths, sitz baths, water consumption to counteract food/alcohol toxicity , teas, jacuzzi, hydrotherapy, etc…