I believe it to be more physical than symbolic.
Osmosis tends to mix the elements. Yeshua lived in a physical form. He left skin cells, hair cells, and breath his whole physical time here. He was basically put through a human food processor at his sacrifice. This spread his flesh and blood throughout the whole world. Every breath you take, you are using the same air He breathed. His body and blood are in everything you consume. You are taking communion every time you eat or drink, not just at designated religious services.
The same could be said of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people throughout history.
Have you ever seen someone who was essentially disintegrated at the time of their death? I have.